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TRIALS and TRIUMPHS 
OF FAITH 



By Mary Cole 



Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power 

of his might. Put on the whole armor of God, that ye may 

be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. — Paul. 



GOSPEL TRUMPET COMPANY 
ANDERSON, INDIANA, U. S. A. 



BX 1W+ 



Copyright, 1914, 

by 

Gospel Trumpet Company 



v 



DEC 28 1914 



CLA391135 



PREFACE 

The history of the world consists mainly of the stories 
of the lives of certain men and women whose deeds have 
been of sufficient importance to make them worth re- 
lating. The lives of some persons have been worth 
narrating because of their abounding in deeds of great 
merit, such as the lives of Washington, Gladstone, 
Frances E. Willard, and Joan of Arc. The lives of 
others have been thought worth narrating because of 
their great wickedness, as the lives of Nero and Queen 
Mary of England. 

But the church too has a history. This history differs 
from the history of the world, in that it does not record 
merely the doings of man, but the workings of God 
through man as his instruments. God is a jealous God 
who manifests himself only through those who are will- 
ing to give him all the glory. Hence not many names 
of the wise, powerful, talented men of the earth have 
been enrolled on the history of the church, since they 
were not humble enough to submit fully into God's hands. 
In the church truly this scripture has been proved : "God 
has used the weak things of the world to confound the 
mighty." 

Sister Mary Cole, of whose life this book is a brief, 
authentic sketch, had a natural inheritance that seemed 
calculated to shut her forever out of a place in the his- 
tory of the world or of the church. Born with a body 
that from her earliest childhood was racked with pain, 
deprived by ill health of education, she seemed naturally 
unfitted to fill any place in the world and doomed to be 
only a burden to herself and her friends. How God 
took her, healed her, and fitted her for his service, and 



6 PREFACE 

how he used her as an instrument for his glory, is the 
story of her life. 

The publication of the story of her life was so remote 
from her thoughts that it was only by the solicitation of 
some one who had been greatly helped by her faith and 
experience and the workings of God through her, and 
who was unwilling that her trials and triumphs should be 
lost as a part of the history of the church, that she was 
prevailed upon to write this brief narrative of her life 
and work. The story of her life would not, indeed, be 
worth telling were it stripped of the manifestations of 
God's power. As you read this simple story, you will 
see clearly that, as Sister Cole has herself expressed so 
many times, what she is she is by God's grace, and that 
all she has accomplished she has accomplished through 
God's power. If you will take at their value the oft- 
repeated expressions, "God told me," "God spoke to me," 
"God made me to understand," realizing that these words 
tell us something that actually happened, you will get 
some idea of how marvelously God can use even the 
weakest members of the human race. 

Aside from the interest this brief history will have for 
those readers who have had the pleasure of a personal 
acquaintance with Sister Cole and who have had the 
privilege of listening 10 her stirring messages delivered 
under the anointing of God's Spirit, it can not fail to 
interest and profit all who take pleasure in reading about 
the dealings of God with man. 

It is the sincere wish of the author and of all those 
who had a hand in preparing this work, that it will show 
some their greater privileges in the kingdom of God, and 
that it will help some to covet the divine help, guidance, 
and power that arc the heritage of all Gods children. 

j. w. p. 



CONTENTS 

CHAP. PAGE 

I. Birth and Ancestry 9 

II. Early Afflictions 13 

III. Incidents of Childhood 17 

IV. Events During the War 24 

V. Conversion and Sanctification 36 

VI. Events of Early Christian Life 44 

VII. My Call to the Ministry 50 

VIII. Seven Years of Preparation 54 

IX. Healed by Divine Power 71 

X. Entering the Gospel Field 80 

XI. Laboring in a New Field 92 

XII. Out of Sectarian Confusion 120 

XIII. The Evening Light 133 

XIV. Various Experiences in Gospel Work 144 

XV. Various Experiences — Continued 1 83 

XVI. God's Care Over Me 195 

XVII. My California Trip 204 

XVIII. Visiting Relatives in the East 222 

XIX. Mission Work in Chicago 228 

XX. A Battle With Smallpox 249 

XXI. Camp-Meetings in Various States 260 

XXII. Caring for My Aged Mother 272 

XXIII. Exhortation to Workers and Ministers 283 

Poems 

Birthday Lines in Memory of Feb. 5, 1822 247 

The Refiner's Fire 300 



Trials and Triumphs of Faith 

Chapter 1 
Birth and Ancestry 

LlKE many other people of European descent, 
born in this country, I can trace my ancestry back to 
their emigration from Europe; but being so far 
removed from European environment, my national- 
ity can best be expressed by the short but comprehen- 
sive term, American. 

My father was born in Hunterdon County, New 
Jersey. He was a descendant of the German Hes- 
sians who were brought to this country by the Eng- 
lish to fight against the Americans in the Revolu- 
tionary War. It is said that from his mother's side 
he inherited a small portion of Turkish blood. 
Father's childhood days were spent near some of the 
Revolutionary battle-fields, where he played with 
cannon balls that had been used during that great 
struggle. Perhaps his early surroundings may have 
developed in him the spirit of partiotism that mani- 
fested itself later when, during the Civil War, he 
stood by his country and defended the stars and 
stripes. 

My mother was born in Ohio near the Pennsylva- 
nia border, but was reared in Carroll County, Ohio. 



10 TRIALS AND TRIUMPHS OF FAITH 

Her father, whose name was Fleming, was of Scotch- 
Irish descent. His ancestors came from Ireland at 
an early day and settled first in Pennsylvania, and 
later in Ohio. When Mother's great-grandfather 
and his cousin came over from Ireland and landed 
in New York, they heard a parrot talking. It said, 
"A beggar and a clodhopper; a beggar and a clod- 
hopper." They had never heard of a parrot before. 
The great-grandfather said to his cousin, "Pat, 
Pat, what kind of a world have we got into? Aven 
the burds of the woods are making fun of us." 

My mother's mother was of German descent, and 
could speak the German language; but she died 
when mother was but a small child. Very soon 
afterward Mother's father married an Irish lady by 
the name of Margret Potter. Mother's stepmother 
took her drams, had dances, etc. ; but Mother was 
spiritually inclined. In her eighteenth year while 
attending a Methodist meeting, she was convicted 
of her sins. She was not saved at the meeting, but 
prayed through by herself to an experience. God 
revealed himself to her in a marvelous way and gave 
her the witness that she was born of him. 

Mother's father was a Universalist until after she 
was grown. At that time, although he had never 
professed a change of heart, he joined the Christian 
church. Mother's steady Christian character was, 
therefore, developed without human encouragement ; 
she got help from no one but God. Her older sister 
said to her one day, "Rebecca, our dear mother 



BIRTH AND ANCESTRY 1 1 

died a Universalist ; are you going to forsake her 
faith?" Mother answered, "If Mother did the best 
she knew, that is between her and her God; it is 
my duty to do the best I know." Later this sister 
joined the Catholic Church and finally died in the 
Catholic home for widows. 

I was born August 23, 1853, the seventh of a 
family of twelve children — eight sons and four 
daughters. Two died before the last two were born, 
so that there were never more than ten of us living 
at the same time. 

The oldest child was Jeremiah. Mother said 
that at his birth she gave him to die Lord, and prayed 
earnestly that God would make him like Jeremiah of 
old. God chose him for the ministry, and he died 
triumphant in the faith. He discerned the one body, 
the church, from the time the truth of the unity of 
God's people was first preached. His body lies 
in the cemetery near Hammond, La. 

The second child was John. He enlisted in the 
army and gave his life for his country. Out of this 
family of twelve children, God chose three for the 
ministry: one of these has gone to his reward and 
the other two remain to work for the Master. 

At the time of my birth, my parents lived on a 
farm adjoining the town of Decatur, in the State 
of Iowa. Later the town was enlarged until it in- 
cluded Father's farm, which was sold for town lots. 
My parents remained in Iowa until I was a year 
old, and then moved to Illinois, where they remained 



12 TRIALS AND TRIUMPHS OF FAITH 

for two years. When I was three years old, they 
settled in Pettis County, Missouri, near the town of 
Belmont, afterwards called Windsor. It was there 
that I spent my childhood and the years of my young 
womanhood. 



TRIALS AND TRIUMPHS OF FAITH 13 

Chapter II 
Early Afflictions 

"Misery stole me at my birth 
And cast me helpless on the wild. ' ' 

The words of this hymn express my condition 
from my first advent into the world. My mother 
had overworked before I was born ; and, as a result, 
I suffered bodily affliction from infancy. I was 
scarcely two years old when I began having spasms. 
My eyes would roll back in my head, I would froth 
at the mouth, the tendons of my jaws would draw, 
causing me to bite my cheeks until the blood ran 
from my mouth, and I would become unconscious. 
Although I would remain unconscious for only a 
short time, yet while I lay in that condition I seemed 
as one dead. Upon regaining consciousness, I seemed 
dazed all the rest of that day; and not until I had 
had a night's sleep, did I have a clear perception of 
what was going on around me. Sometimes two or 
three days would pass before I was fully restored. 

I had a number of these spasms when I was too 
young to know anything about them. The first one 
of which I remember, I began to turn blind and did 
not know what was the matter; but I soon learned 
the nature of my affliction. I had to be very careful 
what I did. If I exposed myself to the direct rays 
of the sun or even looked straight at the sun, I was 



14 TRIALS AND TRIUMPHS OF FAITH 

likely to have a spasm ; if I drank sweet milk it was 
likely to have the same result. 

When I quit school at the age of ten years and 
had nothing to occupy my mind, my thoughts cen- 
tered on my suffering and the frequency of my spasms 
seemed to increase. After having a spasm my mind 
was greatly afflicted with melancholy and depression. 
I dreaded the recurrence of the fits, and looked for- 
ward to their coming with such abhorrence that often 
the fear of having a spasm would bring on the very 
thing I dreaded. 

From the time I can first recollect, most of my life 
was spent in sadness and disappointment. It seemed 
as if my whole being were a mass of suffering and 
affliction. The doctor said there was nothing sound 
about me but my lungs. Most of my time I appeared 
to be nothing but a voice. So far as I remember, not 
one day of that period of my life was passed without 
pain and suffering. My high temper, of course, 
added mental suffering to the physical. 

Many times I wondered why I could not die. 
My suffering was greatly increased by melancholy 
and mental depression. I often sat beside my mother 
and cried, "Mother, why can't I die? Why did I 
not die when I was a child? I am a trial to myself 
and to all around me." Mother would say, "Mary, 
God has a bright design in all this. We do not know 
the reason why you are so afflicted, but we will know 
sometime." With such comforting words she many 
times soothed my troubled spirit. God blessed me 



EARLY AFFLICTIONS 1 5 

with a dear Christian mother. Her gentle, patient 
life — so loving and Christlike — stamped upon my 
soul in early childhood the ideal of real Christian 
character. I had before me constantly an example 
of what I ought to be. As I look back at those days, 
my association with my mother seems to have been 
the only bright spot in my early life. 

At six years of age I began to have dyspepsia, and 
as a result, could eat but very little food without 
suffering. Up to this time and later, I could walk 
a mile or more; but was liable at any time to have 
a fit. When about twelve or thirteen years of age, 
other afflictions set in, such as spinal and female 
trouble. 

In my fifteenth year I became a helpless invalid, 
and lay in bed for five months at one time. When I 
first became helpless, I thought I was dying. I 
knew if I went into eternity as I then was I would be 
lost, and suffered terrible mental anguish. My dear 
mother came to my bedside with comforting words : 
"Mary, put your trust in the Lord." I could move 
neither hand nor foot but could only say, "Mother, 
I am trying to," knowing at the same time that I was 
not capable of meeting the conditions — repentance, 
etc., I decided that I would not tell Mother nor 
any one else that I felt that I was lost, even if I 
died in that condition; but God in his mercy saw 
fit to lengthen out my life. 

Viewed from the standpoint of mature life, those 
early years remind me of the experience of the Israel- 



16 TRIALS AND TRIUMPHS OF FAITH 

ites when they came to Marah, where the waters 
were bitter, and where Moses put something into 
the bitter waters to make them sweet. In my un- 
saved condition, I was at Marah; but when the Lord 
saved my soul, he put something into the bitter 
stream of my life that made it sweet, and I can truly 
say, "My December is as pleasant as May : my sum- 
mer lasts all the year." Yes, I can now obey God's 
Word: "Rejoice evermore; pray without ceasing; 
and in everything give thanks" ( 1 Thess. 5 : 14-16). 
Oh, what a wonderful change God wrought! It 
is all through grace divine; for the promise is, "All 
things work together for good to them that love 
God." 



TRIALS AND TRIUMPHS OF FAITH 1 7 

Chapter III 
Incidents of Childhood 

The old home farm near Windsor, Mo., where I 
spent my childhood and early womanhood, was 
heavily timbered on the west and the south. There 
was also a good-sized apple orchard north of the 
house and a number of beautiful shade trees in the 
yard, which gave the place a homelike appearance. 
The house was very ordinary — just a large front 
room, a large bedroom, an attic large enough for 
three or four beds, and a large log kitchen. 

In those days, and even until long after the Civil 
War, the houses were lighted mostly by candles. 
The old-fashioned fireplace gave us both light and 
heat in the rooms where they were, and made very 
pleasant the long winter evenings. Of course, in 
many ways they were not equal to our modern im- 
provements, but we had some very happy times 
around the old fireplace. Mother made the candles 
we used, in molds especially designed for that pur- 
pose. I will not soon forget how I used to watch her 
put in the cotton wick, tie it at a certain place, and 
then melt and pour in the tallow. As soon as the 
tallow cooled, we had candles. Sometimes when we 
had no candles, we used what was called a grease 
lamp. This was merely a saucer with a little grease 
in it and a twisted rag, the greater part of which lay 
in the grease in the bottom of the saucer. The end 



18 TRIALS AND TRIUMPHS OF FAITH 

which extended up over the edge of the saucer was 
lighted, and this device served as a lamp until Mother 
could make more candles. 

Near the house was a garden from which Mother 
used often to gather bouquets to cheer me in my 
lonely hours. These loving acts of Mother's meant 
much to me in my affliction. Jesus said that the gift 
of a cup of cold water will be rewarded. I am sure 
that Mother's reward will be great. 

When I was about five or six years old, an inci- 
dent occurred which shows that I, although greatly 
afflicted, was not altogether wanting in activity. Two 
of my older sisters and I were playing on a shed 
adjoining one side of the corn-crib. My sis^s 
wanted to jump off the shed, but were a little afraid 
to do so for fear they would hurt themselves. They 
finally decided that they would have me jump first, 
and if it did not hurt me, then they would jump. 
Little as I was, I understood their scheme. Never- 
theless, I jumped. It hurt me quite a little; but 
when they asked me if I was hurt, I said, "No." 
Thinking then, that it would not hurt them, they 
jumped but they were considerably hurt too. Again 
they asked if it hurt me, and I admitted that it had. 
"Why did you not tell us?" "Because," I re- 
plied, "you were playing off on me because I am the 
youngest, and I would not let you know, so that you 
would have a chance to get hurt too." 

One morning when I was about six years old, I 
was going to school in company with my brothers 



INCIDENTS OF CHILDHOOD 19 

and sisters and other children who went the same 
road. It was late in the fall, and a heavy rain that 
had recently fallen, made the narrow lane through 
which we were obliged to pass, very muddy. Cattle 
had made deep tracks in the mud, in which the water 
had collected and then frozen. The bubbles under- 
neath the ice had the appearance of money, and we 
children ran along looking at the bubbles, and say- 
ing "I have found some money.'* All at once I was 
sure that I did see a real coin under the ice at the 
bottom of one of the holes. When I called out "I 
have found some money," my brothers came quickly 
to investigate; and, sure enough, there was a fifty- 
cent piece stuck to the rim of an old pocket book. 
It had lain there so long that the leather had all 
rotted away. I was so delighted and spent so much 
time in enjoying the treasure I had found that I 
learned but very little that day. 

One of my earliest recollections is of committing 
these lines to memory: 

1 ' In His pure eyes it is a sin 
To steal a penny or a pin. ' ' 

Not long after this, when I was about four years 
old, I think, I went with my oldest sister to one of 
our neighbors on an errand. My sister, who could 
weave, wanted me to go to the home of another 
neighbor near by to borrow a part for the old-fash- 
ioned loom she was using. While at the house I 
saw a piece of pink calico about an inch square 



20 TRIALS AND TRIUMPHS OF FAITH 

that attracted my childish fancy. I thought how 
nice it would be for the little quilt I had begun to 
piece. As I had no pocket, I put the piece of calico 
into the bosom of my dress and went back to my 
sister holding it as if I feared it would get away. 

Noticing what I was doing, she said, "Mary, 
what is the matter?" "Nothing," I answered. 
"What have you there?" "Nothing," I replied 
again. Right there I told two falsehoods, the first 
of which I had ever been guilty. They were like 
black spots on a white robe. My sister said, "I 
know you have something," and drew out my hand 
still grasping the scrap of calico. "Where did you 
get it?" I told the truth then, and she said that I 
must go back and tell the woman I had stolen it. 
She took me back ; but she had to do all the talking. 

The old lady wanted to excuse me, and said, "Oh, 
let her have it; it dosen't amount to anything"; but 
my sister said, "No, she shall not have it, for she 
did not ask for it." Oh, how awful I felt! It was 
about a mile to our house, and I cried nearly the 
whole way home. On the way I said, "Ell, don't 
tell Mother" ; and she promised that she would not. 
I had experienced now what Paul meant when he 
said, "Sin revived and I died." It was the first time 
in my life I had ever known what guilt was. Re- 
proof given at the first offense has saved me many 
temptations in later life. Only twice afterward do 
I remember of having had a like temptation. 

Perhaps the influence of this incident w*s strength- 



INCIDENTS OF CHILDHOOD 21 

ened by a story that my mother related to me while 
I was still a child. This story made a deep impres- 
sion upon my young heart. In Carroll County, Ohio, 
not far from where she was raised, there lived two 
families by the name of Long. The fathers were 
brothers. Two boys of the two families used to 
trap for mink and other fur-bearing animals during 
the winter season. As the fur of the mink at that 
time brought a good price, the boys were more 
anxious to catch mink than any other animal. One 
of the boys once found a mink in his cousin's trap. 
When he told his mother what he had seen, she said, 
"Go back, take the mink out of your cousin's trap, 
set the trap just as it was before, put the mink into 
your own trap, and tell your cousin that you have 
caught a mink; he will never know the difference." 

The boy did as his mother advised, and the cousin 
never learned of the deception until many years 
later. The boy who had stolen the mink went from 
bad to worse until, during the outbreak of the Mor- 
mons, I think, he was implicated in the murder of 
Colonel Davenport of Iowa. While on the scaffold, 
he confessed that his first step downward was in tak- 
ing the mink out of his cousin's trap and telling a 
falsehood about it. God's Word was verified: 
"For they have sown the wind, and they shall reap 
the whirlwind." 

Parents, be careful what example you set before 
your children. If you set a wrong example, they 
may rise up and curse you : but if you teach them the 



22 TRIALS AND TRIUMPHS OF FAITH 

good and right way, they will "rise up and call you 
blessed." If when parents see one of their children 
entering upon his first temptation to take things that 
do not belong to him, they would do their duty, 
there would be more honest children today. 'Train 
up a child in the way he should go, and when he 
is old he will not depart from it." 

From my earliest childhood I liked poetry and 
could readily commit it to memory. I often learned 
poems that were quite difficult for one of my age. 
The beautiful poems I learned were like rays of sun- 
shine on my pathway and added much comfort to 
a life that had but few pleasures. 

I learned the alphabet at home and so made 
quite rapid progress after I began attending school, 
although I was greatly hindered because of stam- 
mering. Some of my teachers were very helpful to 
me in overcoming this difficulty. When Mr. Nutter, 
who taught our school one winter, saw that I could 
not recite because of my impediment of speech, he 
had all the classes recite with me so as to take away 
the embarrassment. I felt very grateful for his kind- 
ness. 

One day when I was ten years old, I had a fit 
at school. Father thought that while I was afflicted 
in this way, it would be hard on my mind for me to 
study, and it would be best to keep me at home. Dur- 
ing my last term at school, I read in McGuffey's 
Fourth Reader, studied the second part of Arithme- 
tic, had learned to spell fairly well in the old Ele- 



INCIDENTS OF CHILDHOOD 23 

mentary Speller, and had also begun geography — - 
a study which I liked very much. I was beginning 
to learn to write ; but as I was left-handed, my move- 
ments were very slow and awkward. 



24 TRIALS AND TRIUMPHS OF FAITH 

Chapter IV 
Events During the War 

I was eight years old when the Civil War began. 
The first event that I remember in connection with 
the war was our teacher's dismissing school one day 
so that we might go over to the public road to see 
the Union soldiers. I suppose there were at least a 
regiment of these troops, if not more. As I had 
never seen soldiers before, their fine appearance as 
they marched by, dressed in their uniforms, with their 
guns, bayonets, drums, and full military equipment, 
made a lasting impression on my childish mind. 

At the beginning of the war, my father wished 
to move from the State where we were then living. 
Missouri was a slave State and he knew that there 
was trouble ahead. Perhaps father would have had 
his way, had not God shown mother in a dream that 
he would protect us, and that we would be as safe 
in Missouri as in any other place. Subsequent events 
proved that we did well to obey God, for none of 
our stock or property was taken. The deaths of my 
brother and sister were the most severe trials through 
which we had to pass. 

In January, 1862, the Federal soldiers again came 
to our neighborhood and camped near the same 
place where I had first seen them; but, at this time, 
the scene excited in me entirely different emotions. 
Snow was on the ground ; the weather was very cold ; 



EVENTS DURING THE WAR 25 

and the soldiers took rails and made a large bonfire 
to keep themselves warm. The sky was lit up with 
the flames, and to me, in my nervous condition, the 
scene was frightful. 

That same evening some of the soldiers went 
down to our little town (then called Belmont, after- 
wards Windsor), brought back to the camp with 
them the hollow trunk of a tree containing a swarm 
of bees, and laid it down to take out the honey. 
Mrs. Hammond, the wife of our nearest neighbor 
on the east, who lived but a short distance from the 
camp, thinking that they were planting a cannon, 
became frightened and came over to our house with 
her two little children. She was afraid there was 
going to be a battle, and sought our house as a place 
of safety. She wanted to stay all night. Father 
pitied her; and in spite of the fact that the children 
were sick with diphtheria, he felt that he could not 
turn her out. 

Thus we children were all exposed to diphtheria ; 
and as my nerves were in such a bad condition, and 
as I was greatly frightened because of the news from 
the camp and the presence of the sick children, I was 
the first victim of the disease. The next to take it 
was my sister Katherine. Just before she took her 
bed, she got her feet wet, and therefore had the 
disease in a very malignant form. The doctor who 
was caring for her, assured us that she was better, 
but he told some of the neighbors that she could not 
live until morning. We did not know that she was 



26 TRIALS AND TRIUMPHS OF FAITH 

seriously ill until Father, who was sitting up with 
her that night, said, "Katy, it's time to take your 
medicine." There was no answer; her gentle spirit 
had taken its flight. 

The thought that my sister was dead was almost 
more than I could endure. The thought that she 
was gone into eternity, that I would never meet her 
again in this world, almost broke my heart. I wept 
for hours at a time. I would sit beside my mother 
weeping and wondering why my sister had been 
taken. It seemed that I could never forgive the 
doctor for deceiving us; and I think I never did 
fully forgive him, until the time when God pardoned 
my sins and gave me a forgiving spirit. Dear little 
sister Katherine! She was twelve years and six 
months old when she died. She was an unusual 
child — patient and kind — was never known to diso- 
bey her parents, and was loved by all. 

The other members of the family took the diph- 
theria one by one, until all but my father and one 
brother had this awful disease. Some of us were 
sick for nearly two months and during this time none 
of the neighbors, except Daniel Douglas, our near- 
est neighbor on the west, came to lend any assistance. 
He came over and sat up a part of every other night 
when the sick ones were at their worst, and needed 
the most care. Even the woman who brought the 
disease to us refused to help, until she was compelled 
to do so by Mr. Douglas ; and then she only helped 
to prepare ^Catherine's body for burial. It certainly 



EVENTS DURING THE WAR 27 

was a sad time. Even nature seemed to cast a gloom 
over everything — much sleet fell, and everything 
had a dismal appearance. 

It was during the war and sometime before 
{Catherine's death that Mr. Hammond used to cross 
our orchard going to and from his work. One day 
Father said to one of the Hammond children, "Come 
over and get some apples to eat" ; to which the child 
answered, "Oh, Papa brings us all the apples we 
want to eat. He gets them out of your orchard." 

One day while my brother Harvey was passing 
through the orchard, he saw an apple caught in the 
fork of two limbs. Supposing that the apple had 
fallen from the tree and accidently lodged there, 
he ate it, and soon began to feel very sick. The 
doctor found upon examination that the boy was 
suffering from strychnine poisoning. From remarks 
that had been dropped, we thought we knew that 
a certain neighbor had poisoned the apple and that 
he had done it for spite. A visitor at our house re- 
marked that she feared that the Union soldiers, who 
were then encamped near her home, would in their 
absence from home, get the strychnine they had 
bought for the rats and poison their meal or their 
water before they got home again. My brother 
suffered from the effects of the strychnine he had 
taken for a number of years before he fully re- 
covered. 

The husband of the woman of whom I have just 
spoken was a soldier in the Southern army. One 



28 TRIALS AND TRIUMPHS OF FAITH 

time while he was out foraging, he went into a Union 
woman's house and asked for a pie. Finding out 
that she had her pies hidden under the puncheon 
floor, he raised a plank and proceeded to help him- 
self. The woman, seeing her opportunity, threw 
the plank onto his neck and jumped on the plank. 
The man got a furlough, came home, and was con- 
fined to his bed for some time. It was reported 
about the neighborhood that he had a spell of fever. 

The woman who brought the diphtheria to us 
sought our house as a place of refuge, because the 
house being "low and in a low place" the cannon 
balls would pass over it. After the Lord saved me, 
this incident came to my mind as a lesson in humility. 
"Low and in a low place." If we as God's servants 
keep humble and in a low place, the enemy may 
hurl his darts and shoot his cannon balls: they will 
go over us and will not harm us. If we don't want 
to be disturbed or crippled by the enemy of our souls, 
we should keep low at the feet of Jesus where he can 
continually shelter us. "He that dwelleth in the 
secret place of the most high, shall abide under the 
shadow of the Almighty." 

Some time after these events the Southern soldiers, 
commonly known as "bushwhackers," came into our 
neighborhood and camped in the woods. One even- 
ing as it was growing dusk, my oldest sister and the 
one next older than I went after water to a well half 
way between our house and the house of our nearest 
neighbor on the west. From this well both families 



EVENTS DURING THE WAR 29 

used water. The girls had to go down a steep hill 
to get to the well ; and as they came back to the brow 
of the hill, they found our dog lying dead. While 
the girls were at the well, the soldiers had no doubt 
killed the dog with a club, as no one heard a gun 
fired. My sisters went home with the water and 
then went back to investigate; they wanted to be 
sure that it was our dog that had been killed. They 
heard men in the brush near the place where the dog 
was lying, and being very young and not realizing 
their danger, they talked rather loudly and boister- 
ously, saying that if they could see the men in the 
brush, they would shoot them with their fingers. 
The crackling in the brush indicated that the men 
were very near. 

That night a large number of these bushwhackers 
entered our neighbor's house and stole bonds, notes, 
and clothing estimated to be worth $2000. Mr. 
Douglas had just been to Sedalia, where he had pro- 
cured a good supply of clothing. The soldiers 
pointed Mr. Douglas's own gun, which had never 
been known to miss fire before, at his head; but it 
failed to go off. Our house was not molested. The 
next day these same men caught one of Mr. 
Douglas's boys, made him take off his shoes, hat, 
and all his other clothing, except his underwear, and 
turned him loose. In this condition, he had to go 
about a quarter of a mile before reaching home. 

It was probably some time after these events that 
the bushwhackers came to our house and wanted 



30 TRIALS AND TRIUMPHS OF FAITH 

Mother to cook a meal for a dozen men. Mother 
was hardly able to be out of bed, but my sister 
Mehala, thinking that they were Union soldiers, said, 
"Mother, I can cook for them." "Well, Mehala," 
Mother said, "if you can, you may go ahead." 
Mother helped all she could. They baked two 
large pones of corn-bread in the oldfashioned fire- 
place and fried plenty of fresh beef. Although the 
soldiers had ordered food for a dozen men, only two 
of them came. One of them took the provisions and 
the other guarded the house until he thought we 
would have no chance to report them. Then they 
went to the home of a neighbor and with much 
bad language said that Mother was Union and there- 
fore pretended to be sick and did not want to cook 
for them. 

During the war, things we had to buy were very 
high and things we had to sell brought only a trifle. 
Father sold corn to the Union soldiers for 25 cents 
a bushel. In imagination I can see the government 
wagons coming to haul the corn away to their camp. 
The beds of the wagons were somewhat like those 
used today, only they sloped outward on either side 
until they would hold more than twice as much as 
our ordinary farm wagons. 

At that time, flour cost $10.00 and upward, a 
barrel, calico from 35 to 45 cents a yard, and cot- 
ton yarn from $9.00 to $11.00 a bunch. This 
quantity of yarn would make only about 25 yards 
of jeans. Mother did her own spinning and weaving 



EVENTS DURING THE WAR 3 1 

until some years after the war. We sheared our 
own sheep, washed and picked the wool, and sent it 
to the carding machine, where it was made into rolls. 
Then Mother and my older sister, who was nearly 
grown, spun the yarn and wove it into jeans and 
linsey, and also into flannel and blankets. Mother 
made all the clothing for the family — underwear, 
pants, vests, coats, and even overcoats. I well re- 
member the old loom and spinning wheel and the 
little wheel on which I used to quill for my sister 
while she wove. Small as I was, I had learned to 
knit. I knit mittens for the soldiers, for which I got 
50 cents a pair at Sedalia, the nearest army post, 
twenty miles away. 

In the early part of the war Father was a militia- 
man. At one time he came very near being ac- 
cidently killed in his own orchard by some of his 
own men. Some Federal soldiers who were passing 
came into our orchard, and seeing Father at a dis- 
tance, thought he was a Southerner. Father, seeing 
his danger, started to run; but one of the soldiers 
who was near enough to recognize him, cried, "Cole, 
don't run or they'll shoot you"; but Father thought 
he said, "Cole run or they'll shoot you." Finally 
they got him to understand what they meant, and 
his life was saved. 

I am not sure how near to our home actual fight- 
ing occurred. There were no battles fought nearer 
than Lone Jack. A number of our neighbors, how- 
ever, were shot down in their own dooryards by 



32 TRIALS AND TRIUMPHS OF FAITH 

those of the other side. One of our neighbors who 
favored the South but who was willing to be any- 
thing for the sake of safety, got fooled three times 
in one day. When the Confederate soldiers came 
along, he thought they were Federals and professed 
to be a Union man; and then when the Federal 
soldiers came by he thought they were Confederates 
and told them he favored the South. When his 
own men came by again, they took his property be- 
cause he had lied to them. His wife followed the 
soldiers pleading, begging, and crying, until they 
gave up the property. In his case, lies did not prove 
to be a satisfactory refuge. 

At Cole Camp, about twenty-five miles from our 
place lived some Germans — good honest people, 
who had worked hard and had gotten quite a bit 
of property together. These thrifty farmers were 
not disturbing either side, but some men around 
Windsor, who called themselves "Home Guards," 
went down to Cole Camp, killed these inoffensive 
Germans, stamped their heads with their boot-heels, 
took all of their goods that they could carry away, 
while the poor wives were begging for the lives of 
their companions. Then these miscreants returned 
to Windsor and divided the spoil. One of my 
brothers, a mere boy, who was working for one of 
the "Home Guards," overheard his employer quar- 
reling with another man over the division of the 
booty. 

Before the "Home Guards" started on this raid, 



EVENTS DURING THE WAR 33 

a preacher named Pierce, of the M. E. South de- 
nomination, prayed for their success. After their re- 
turn, my father overheard him and one of the raiders 
talking. Father overheard this man tell Pierce that 
his brother had killed nine Germans and stamped 
them on the head with his boot heel. Upon hearing 
this the preacher, throwing back his head, laughed 
heartily. He seemed to enjoy the story very much. 
Up until this time Father was a member of the M. 
E. South denomination; but after overhearing this 
conversation he no longer professed to be one of 
them. It has often been remarked that war makes 
men wicked; but Mother used to say that usually 
the wickedness was in the men already and that war 
merely gave them a chance to put their wickedness 
on exhibition. Boys, of course, were especially de- 
moralized by soldier-life, coming in contact as they 
did with so many wicked influences. 

In the early part of the war, both Father and my 
second brother, John, joined the militia, which was 
later disbanded. Before the war closed, Father 
reached his 45th year and after that was too old to 
go as a soldier. John was quite patriotic and wanted 
to enlist for regular service. Nevertheless, he and 
my oldest brother went to Illinois to attend school. 
When they started, Mother said, "John, don't en- 
list in the army any more." "Mother," he answered, 
"I won't unless they draft me; but if they draft I 
will volunteer, for I don't like the treatment of a 
drafted soldier." 



34 TRIALS AND TRIUMPHS OF FAITH 

Soon a rumor came that a draft was to be made, 
on purpose, I suppose, to "beat up" volunteers. So 
to avoid being drafted, my brother volunteered. He 
had been exposed to the measles shortly before his 
enlistment, but supposed that when he joined the 
army he would get a furlough for at least twenty 
days. He was disappointed: next day they got 
marching orders. He took the measles, had to go 
out on duty when not able, took cold, and soon died 
with congestion of the lungs. His body lies in the 
soldiers' graveyard at Chattanooga, Tenn. 

About the year 1 894, I think, while my youngest 
brother and I were out in gospel work, the Lord 
greatly burdened my heart to pray for Mother's 
support. My brother and I were supposed to help 
provide for her; and at this time Mother was es- 
pecially in need, although I did not know it. The 
Lord showed me that I should save up what I had 
on hands for Mother's support until I should reach 
home, and that if I did not I would feel very sorry. 

I did as God directed. When I reached home, 
Mother began to tell me of the poor crops and other 
drawbacks and what a hard time they had had. I 
told her I was glad to see that she had salvation, 
even if she did not have much of this world's goods, 
for I had seen many people with much of this world's 
goods, but with no experience of salvation, and they 
were in worse condition than she. I was still bur- 
dened to pray the Lord to supply Mother's needs; 
not only for the present, but while she lived. 



EVENTS DURING THE WAR 35 

When, after about three weeks' visit at home, I 
started again in the gospel work, I gave Mother all 
the change I had to spare. As I did so, she looked 
at me with tears running down her cheeks and said, 
"Mary, I don't want to take this; the cause needs it 
so badly." "Mother," I said, "you are a part of 
the cause." She laughed and cried but took the 
money. Shortly after this I got a postal card from 
my brother at home, saying that he had news from 
Washington, that Mother had been granted a pen- 
sion because of my brother John's death during the 
Civil War. For three years she had been trying to 
get this pension and had about given up hope of ever 
receiving it. Mother received $400.00 back pension 
and $12.00 a month for the remainder of her life. 
The Lord showed me that my prayer was answered 
for Mother's support, and the burden left me. 



36 TRIALS AND TRIUMPHS OF FAITH 

Chapter V 
Conversion and Sanctification 

A few years after I became a helpless invalid, I 
was somewhat wrought upon by the Spirit of God, 
but had no advice as to what I should do. I joined 
the M. E. Church on probation, although I was yet 
unsaved. The minister who received me into the 
church, did not inquire whether I was saved or not, 
nor did he ask about my spiritual welfare. 

In my nineteenth year I was convicted of my sins, 
after the following circumstance: I was having a 
quarrel with one of my younger brothers. We were 
both high-spirited and each wanted to have his own 
way. While the quarrel was in progress, Mother 
came on the scene, and what she heard was enough 
to make her heart ache. "Mary, why don't you 
set a better example?" "Mother," I said, "he com- 
menced on me first. If you make him behave him- 
self, I will behave." "Mary, I am afraid you chil- 
dren will never stop your quarreling until you land 
in perdition; and if I were out of the way, you 
would soon be there. You act just as if you wanted 
me out of the way." I saw her standing there as 
pale as a corpse with the big tears rolling down her 
face. She was always pale in those days. I said, 
"Mother, don't break my heart." "Mary," said 
she, "you broke my heart first." "Mother, won't 
you forgive me?" 'Yes," she answered, "I forgive 



CONVERSION AND SANCTIFICATION 37 

you; but there is one higher than I whom you have 
offended, and you will have to ask his forgiveness." 

Up to that time I was not under conviction, but 
the Lord now began to answer the prayer of my 
oldest brother, who had been praying for my con- 
viction. That same evening I went into the garden, 
and earnestly asked the Lord to convict me of my 
sins. I remember now that he had convicted me in 
the past but that I had resisted until conviction left 
me. I said to the Lord, "I will not fight conviction 
now if it kills me right on the spot." The Lord took 
me at my word; he knew I meant what I said with 
all my heart. I arose from my knees, and walked 
toward the house, with such a deep realization of 
God's displeasure on my lost soul that it seemed as 
if the earth would open and swallow me up. I shall 
never forget that awful experience. I think I fully 
comprehended God's displeasure against rebellious 
souls, but in his wrath he remembered mercy, and I 
found myself seeking God with all my heart. I 
could not weep, but my heart was sincere and deeply 
determined to seek God until I should know that I 
was saved. 

I did not find the Lord at once and the enemy 
brought discouragement against my soul. I was just 
about to come to the conclusion that I would seek 
God only a week, and that if I did not find him then 
I would quit. But as I walked through the front 
room, I noticed an old Methodist hymn-book lying 
on the stand. I opened it and as God would have it, 



38 TRIALS AND TRIUMPHS OF FAITH 

my eyes fell on these lines: "And will you basely to 
the tempter yield?" Going to the kitchen where 
Mother was washing, I said, "Mother, there is a 
hymn in this book that ought to be torn out." She 
said, "Why, Mary?" After I had read the line 
to her she said, "Mary, can't you adopt the next line 
as yours? 'No, in the strength of Jesus, no, I never 
will give up my shield.' I decided then and there 
to seek God until the day of my death, or until I 
found him. 

My oldest brother and I went to prayer. He 
asked me to pray, but all I have ever remembered 
saying is, "Lord have mercy on me. Lord hear me." 
He said, "Mary, the Lord does have mercy on you 
and the Lord does hear you, or you could not have 
prayed as you have been praying." He asked me 
whether I was willing to live or die for the Lord ; and 
I said, "I am willing to live, but I am not willing to 
die in this condition." He replied, "All the Lord 
wants is your will. He will not let you die in this 
condition when you want to get saved." But I still 
persisted that I wasn't willing to die in that condition. 

Then the enemy tried to bring confusion upon me. 
The burden of my guilt was all gone and the devil 
suggested that I was worse than I had thought, that 
my heart was so hard I could not mourn for my sins 
any more. Howbeit, the dear Lord came to my 
rescue. He reminded me that my repentance was 
genuine, and therefore accepted by him; and that all 
he required of me was to exercise faith in his prom- 



CONVERSION AND SANCTIFICATION 39 

ises, and that if I could not do that immediately, I 
could begin to quote his word, "Lord, I believe; help 
thou my unbelief." I kept repeating that declara- 
tion and prayer all day long and until late in the 
afternoon. 

I got hold of a little tract in which God's promises 
were simplified; for instance, "He is our light in 
darkness; our wisdom in ignorance; our counsellor 
in perplexity." I said, "Lord, I am perplexed: the 
burden of guilt is gone and I can't mourn any more, 
but I can't say that I am saved." Mother had said 
that the Lord had shown her that she was saved, and 
I felt sure that as God is no respecter of persons, he 
must show me that I was saved too. I could not 
be satisfied short of that; so I said, "Lord, I take 
thee as my counsellor in perplexity." Then I re- 
peated, "Lord, I believe; help thou my unbelief." 
Before the sentence had dropped from my lips, I 
said, "Lord, I know; Lord, I know." 

I can not tell you how happy I was. I arose from 
my knees, started out of my chamber and to my 
surprise met the brother with whom I had quarreled. 
"O Oliver," I said, "the Lord has had mercy on me 
and saved me." I shall never forget that day. It 
was May 3, 1871. 

Up to that time I had not opened my heart to my 
father concerning my soul's condition and needs, as 
he was not living a satisfactory life himself, but when 
I went to the supper table, I was so happy that I 
said, "O Father, help me praise the Lord." Not 



40 TRIALS AND TRIUMPHS OF FAITH 

knowing how my soul had been longing for God and 
a new life, he said, "Mary, what has broken loose?" 
I answered, "I can't praise Him enough; I want you 
to help me praise him." I was too happy to eat 
supper, and so went out into the yard and walked 
up and down praising the Lord to my soul's con- 
tent. 

I might say here, it was not fear of everlasting 
punishment that caused me to seek God, but a good 
faithful mother's love. I did not want to grieve her 
heart and as I could not keep from doing so without 
help from above, I sought salvation with this end in 
view. At this time there came very forcibly to me 
the scripture about Mary's anointing the Lord before 
his burial. I decided that she should be my example. 
I would give Mother some of the flowers of my ex- 
perience, and not wait until after she was dead and 
buried. Had I waited to strew flowers over her 
grave, I would have expected to hear people say, 
"She is nothing but a hypocrite. She did not treat 
her mother right while she was living, and now she 
is trying to make a show." Let us take a lesson from 
Mary of old — give flowers to the living; but if we 
have no flowers, let us see to it that we do not give 
thorns. It was thorns that the enemies of Christ 
placed upon his brow in mockery. 

Later I found that there was something in me that 
did not want to treat Mother just right — a disposi- 
tion arising in my heart to disobey her. I felt that 
this grieved the Lord; and I went and asked him to 



CONVERSION AND SANCTIFICATION 41 

forgive me. One day I said, "Mother, I am going 
to set down on paper a record of every day that I 
keep from getting mad." As I had a very high 
temper, Mother thought it very foolish for me to 
undertake such a record. Nevertheless, day after 
day went by in which I did not become angry, until 
a month had elapsed; I had not been angry for a 
month. 

Just a month after I was saved, my oldest brother, 
who was a minister, came with a message on the sub- 
ject of sanctification. He explained the doctrine to 
Mother and me and showed us our privilege of at- 
taining to this grace. Before noon of that day we 
made a complete consecration for time and for eter- 
nity, grasped the promises, and both of us received 
the experience. I am sure that my consecration was 
made in great ignorance; but the Lord understood 
that I was sincere, and graciously granted me the 
experience. When I received the sanctifying grace, 
I did not think of demonstration, or of great feeling, 
or of anything of that kind : I simply consecrated all 
a living sacrifice, and reckoned myself dead indeed 
unto sin and alive unto God through our Lord Jesus 
Christ. I met the conditions and believed that the 
work was done. 

Not until the tempter came, did I fully realize 
what God had done in sanctifying me. That even- 
ing the devil tested me in such a way that had there 
been any of the old Adam in me, it would have been 
stirred up; but, thank God! the devil found nothing 



42 TRIALS AND TRIUMPHS OF FAITH 

to work upon. God had removed that depraved 
nature, the sin-principle inherited from the fall of 
Adam. As there was nothing but God's glory in 
my soul, nothing but glory could bubble up, no mat- 
ter how severe the temptation. I felt so secure — just 
as if I were out in mid-ocean upon a solid rock, the 
waves dashing all around me, but powerless to dis- 
turb my security and the peace of my soul. 

Soon after I was sanctified, I testified to my ex- 
perience, in a Methodist quarterly meeting. The 
presiding elder made fun of me: he said, "The testi- 
monies of those that claim to be sanctified, sound 
just like the tones of an old cracked cow-bell. There 
was only one good testimony made this evening ; and 
that was by one who did not profess sanctification." 
My only persecution at home came from a neighbor 
who made fun of my prayers. Her oft-repeated ex- 
pression was, "Pray like old Mary Cole." Later 
when her grandchild lay dying, she called on me to 
pray four times within twenty-four hours. After 
the child was dead, she said she was hurt because 
I did not pray for the child's healing, because she 
was sure that if I had done so the child would have 
lived. 

A minister who came onto our circuit some time 
after this decided that those who had the experience 
of sanctification should not testify to it. He gave as 
his reason that he wanted to bring the people to a 
level in their experiences ; in other words, he wanted 
to bring the sanctified ones down to lift the justified 



CONVERSION AND SANCTIFICATION 43 

ones up, until they would all be on an equality in 
experience. Two sisters who were sanctified, came 
to me and said, "Sister Cole, we have come to the 
conclusion that we won't testify to sanctification this 
year, lest we offend the minister." I replied, "If 
the minister is going to oppose sanctification, so much 
the more will I testify to it throughout the year." I 
did so, and God wonderfully blessed me. These 
women stopped testifying to please the preacher ; and 
before the year was out, they and the preacher were 
having trouble. 

After I was sanctified, I was so happy and vic- 
torious in my soul, that I wanted to tell my experience 
to others. At one time I was talking to a lady old 
enough to be my grandmother, telling her how happy 
I was, and how I enjoyed the fulness of God's bless- 
ing. She seemed to appreciate my story greatly ; but 
after I got through, the thought came to me that she 
would think that I felt myself important in trying to 
instruct one so much older than myself. 

Although I did not know it at the time, this was 
the enemy whispering to me. I apologized to her 
for saying anything about my experience: 'You 
must not get hurt at me because I have talked so to 
you, but I am very happy in the Lord." Looking 
at me steadily she said, "You are not worth getting 
hurt over." I saw the point. This was God's re- 
proof. I learned my lesson; and so far as I know, 
I have never made an apology for what the Lord 
has done for me. 



44 TRIALS AND TRIUMPHS OF FAITH 

Chapter VI 
Events of Early Christian Life 

One day soon after I was saved, I felt God stir- 
ring within me, and gave vent to my happy soul by 
praising his precious name aloud. This seemed to 
disturb Father, and he commanded me to be quiet. 
But God stirred me up more and more, until my soul 
seemed to roar like a lion, and I quoted the follow- 
ing scripture to Father: "If these should hold their 
peace, the stones would immediately cry out." This 
looked like disobedience to my father; but the out- 
come seemed to show that God was leading me, for 
Father calmed down and did not again interfere with 
my praising the Lord. 

Not long after I was sanctified, I received my 
first light on the subject of dress. One Sunday morn- 
ing while at the Methodist meeting listening to a 
sermon, a voice began to talk to my soul: "You pro- 
fess to be sanctified, living a holy life, and yet your 
head-dress shows conformity to the world." These 
words did not come from the pulpit either: nothing 
was being preached against dress or worldly conform- 
ity. Sunday after Sunday the same still, small 
voice talked to me in this way, until I hardly knew 
what to do. 

Finally I said to myself, "I shall not allow my 
conscience to be tortured in this way any more." 
Early Monday morning, therefore, as soon as I had 



EVENTS OF EARLY CHRISTIAN LIFE 45 

an opportunity, I took the flowers off my hat, as they 
were what the Holy Spirit had been pointing out to 
me. My Mother, who was sitting by, said, "Mary, 
what are you doing?" I said, "I am taking these 
flowers off." "What are you doing that for?" she 
inquired. "Because," I answered, "I do not want 
them on." I did not explain matters to her just then. 
She replied, "That is just a foolish notion of yours. 
You will soon want the flowers on again." "No, 
Mother," I answered, "I never will." 

So I took the flowers off and put them into the 
vase where we kept our winter bouquet. As I did 
so, the voice of God said, "If you do not want to 
be tempted in this matter again, put those flowers into 
the fire." I immediately obeyed, and from that day 
to this I have never been tempted to restore the 
flowers to my hat. 

About ten years later while I was holding my first 
meeting at Salisbury, Mo., I saw a number of young 
ladies who were dressed so saintlike, and in a manner 
so becoming to holy lives, that I was convicted im- 
mediately for plainness of dress. Some of the sisters 
who were gospel teachers, came to me at the close 
of the service, saying that they would like to have a 
talk with me. I thought I knew what they wanted 
to say, because God had already been talking to me 
on the same subject. I was not mistaken. "As you 
profess to be a holiness teacher," said they, "you 
ought to be an example in plainness of dress." I told 
them that I had no plain dresses. All I had were 



46 TRIALS AND TRIUMPHS OF FAITH 

virtually a display of ruffles, flounces, "pin-backs" 
and "tuck-ups." They then inquired if I would be 
pleased to have them help me make my clothes over. 
I told them, "Certainly I would, but some of my 
dresses are so cut up that they couldn't be made 
over." I was very thankful when an opportunity 
was offered to make my clothes plain. God had 
already given me an understanding of his will in re- 
gard to dress; and it was not only easy for me to 
obey, but a pleasure also. 

It was not so very long after this — while I was 
in my second meeting at Sturgeon, Mo. — that a 
minister handed me some money for my personal 
use. Soon afterwards his wife came and said that 
the Lord had shown her that she must give me some- 
thing too. As this was the first money that had been 
handed me, I hardly knew what to do; but I ac- 
cepted it. Then the sister said, "Now, Sister Cole, 
I will take the money my husband has given you 
and what I have given, and will buy the goods for 
a plain dress for you. I will see that it is made plain 
and neat, and so that it will fit you." How glad I 
was when I got that dress! Only once after that 
was I tempted to build again what I had destroyed. 
Then I got a dress and trimmed it with lace, but I 
could not wear it that way at all. That was my 
last temptation to try to dress in style. 

About nine o'clock one evening in the month of 
December, of the year I was saved, Mother and I 
were in the kitchen. I was down on my knees mixing 



EVENTS OF EARLY CHRISTIAN LIFE 47 

some sausage-meat in a vessel, when all at once I 
looked up and saw a very bright light, which seemed 
to be moving very rapidly. "Mother," said I, "what 
makes that light?" My first thought was that some 
of my younger brothers were carrying a light and 
trying to scare us ; but when I saw that the light was 
so strong and moving so fast, I felt sure that I was 
mistaken. By this time mother was standing in the 
door and calling, "Mary, come quick and you can 
see what is causing the light." What I saw, was a 
large ball of fire. Starting from the west, or a little 
north of west, it moved southeast at a high rate of 
speed. 

When we first saw the ball, about two-thirds of it 
was hidden behind the horizon, and we gazed at 
it until it went out of sight. Perhaps our imagina- 
tions worked upon our senses; but it seemed that 
sparks of fire flew back from the ball. In two or 
three minutes after the ball disappeared, there was 
a terrible trembling of the earth as if there had been 
a small earthquake. Probably the ball struck with 
such force that it shook the earth. This sight was 
witnessed by people in different states. 

My feelings at the time of this incident made me 
think how poor sinners will feel in the day of judg- 
ment when they will be standing awaiting their 
doom, knowing that the wrath of God rests upon 
them, and that they are without hope. Far more 
terrifying things than the passing of a comet will be 
happening then; and many will be crying for the 



48 TRIALS AND TRIUMPHS OF FAITH 

rocks and mountains to fall on them to hide them 
from the presence of him that liveth and reigneth 
forever. I confess, that though I was saved, I trem- 
bled at seeing that ball of fire in its weird passage. 
I thought that if this little incident had such an ef- 
fect upon one who was saved and ready to meet 
God, what a far more terrible spectacle would the 
day of judgment be to those who were not ready. 

One fall, not long after I was saved, the grass- 
hoppers came to our part of the country, and laid 
their eggs, and in the spring the young grasshoppers 
hatched out by the million. There were so many 
grasshoppers and they destroyed the vegetation so 
rapidly that people began to fear a famine. The 
governor of the State proclaimed a day of fasting 
and prayer, and many people gathered at the differ- 
ent houses of worship to plead with the Lord to stay 
the plague. Even hardhearted sinners left their 
work and came to these meetings. God heard our 
petitions, and in three days the grasshoppers were 
gone. Then some of the unsaved people said, "Oh, 
well, the grasshoppers would have gone anyway. 
They just stayed until their wings were grown: they 
would have gone without prayer." Thus they dis- 
honored God. We had an excellent crop that year 
— much better than usual; but when Thanksgiving 
time came, many of those who were at the fast-day 
meeting had no time to come and thank the Lord for 
his mercies. 

Just when the grasshoppers were at their worst, 



EVENTS OF EARLY CHRISTIAN LIFE 49 

my mother was making garden. Some one said, 
'You would better not make garden because the 
grasshoppers will eat it up." "Oh, well," she re- 
plied, "I am going to plant it anyway and trust it 
with the Lord. 'They that sow in hope shall be 
partaker of their hope.' Mother did not fight the 
grasshoppers at all ; she just trusted the Lord. 

A number of people had great battles with the 
grasshoppers. I remember a doctor's wife who came 
to her death because of overheating herself in her 
exertions to keep the grasshoppers from getting her 
garden. Near one side of Mother's garden there 
was a patch of fennel. Mother saw the grasshoppers 
in the garden but they did not seem to take anything 
but the weeds. Then they moved out into the patch 
of fennel, stripped it of all its leaves, and left only 
the stems standing. I do not think Mother ever had 
a better garden; some of her vegetables were es- 
pecially fine. 'They that trust the Lord shall not 
be confounded." 



" Blind unbelief is sure to err, 
And scan his work in vain; 
God is his own interpreter, 
And he will make it plain.' ' 



50 TRIALS AND TRIUMPHS OF FAITH 

Chapter VII 
My Call to the Ministry 

When I was about twenty-two years of age, I 
attended a camp-meeting held by a number of dif- 
ferent denominations. One night, while at this 
meeting, I awoke and became conscious that God 
was calling me to get up and to go outside the tent 
to pray. As I obeyed the voice of the Lord, I be- 
came conscious of his awful presence and remem- 
bered what he said to Moses: "Put thy shoes from 
off thy feet, for the ground whereon thou standest 
is holy ground." God then called to my remem- 
brance how he had been leading me for sometime to 
pray in secret for many different persons and in- 
terests, and made me to understand that he wanted 
me to exercise myself in that way at this time also. 

After I had prayed for everything I could think 
of, the Lord burdened me to pray again, although 
it seemed that I had no other language in which to 
express my petition. The Lord would in a special 
manner send down the glory in my soul and, at 
every repeated petition, fill me more and more with 
his presence. This was done at least three times. 
Then he confronted me with this question, "Will 
you consecrate yourself to go out as a life-worker 
for me?" "Lord," I cried, "I thought I consecrated 
myself all to you when I was sanctified." 'Yes, 
you did, but not as a life-worker," was his answer; 



MY CALL TO THE MINISTRY 51 

although, of course, this was included in the "all 
things" that I consecrated to the Master. 

Although I realized that God was talking to me, 
yet I began making excuses: "Lord, I am not tal- 
ented; my education is so meagre; there is no one 
to go with me; and, besides, I have a stammering 
tongue." God cut my excuses short with, "Who 
made man's mouth? I gave Moses Aaron as his 
spokesman; but I will do a better part by you, I 
will go with you myself." Praise the Lord! 
Throughout the years that I have worked for him, 
this promise has been fulfilled. 

Again, when the devil suggested that I had no 
means of traveling, the Lord brought to my mind 
this scripture, "Yea, the Almighty shall be thy de- 
fense, and thou shalt have plenty of silver." For 
every excuse I made, the Lord had a scripture, until 
I felt as did Job, that when the Almighty speaks, 
"I will lay mine hand upon my mouth." So I sub- 
mitted and consented to obey God. 

I now suppose that I was ready to go back to 
bed; but the Lord began to talk to me again. He 
showed me that he wanted me to pray still more. 
As I began again to pour out my heart to him, he 
seemed just to pour the glory into my soul and to 
press it down until he saw, I suppose, that I was 
ready to hear his plan for me — a plan that I had not 
yet contemplated. When he said to me therefore, 
"Go preach my gospel," I was astonished beyond 
measure. Oh, it was all so new! I made excuses; 



52 TRIALS AND TRIUMPHS OF FAITH 

but again he gave Scripture to offset every excuse — 
and all so comforting and strengthening — that I 
submitted to his will. I went to bed almost over- 
whelmed by the glory of God. 

Next day I thought that as I had been blessed 
in learning God's will concerning me, others would 
be rejoiced too, to hear me relate my experience. 
But when I began to tell publicly how God had 
talked to my soul, to my surprise, it stirred up a 
spirit of jealousy in some and before night the devil 
tried to carry out his design to defeat the Lord's 
plan in regard to me. The devil began by starting 
a wicked falsehood against me and thus, almost 
crushing the life out of me. I did not understand 
the devil's cunning way and did not know how to 
lean on God, it was a dark hour for me. I remem- 
bered how the enemies of Moses tried to slay him 
when he was a child, and how the Jews tried to de- 
stroy our Savior when he was a little babe. God 
proved himself and protected me ; he lifted me above 
all my persecutions and made me more than a con- 
queror. I had learned the useful lesson to let the 
Lord be my defense and not to try to defend myself. 

On my return home, when I told my class-leader 
how God had revealed his will to me concerning my 
future, he said, "You are a pretty looking thing to 
be called to preach." I thought so too; but to ex- 
cuse myself, for I hardly knew what to say, I re- 
plied, "I do not believe that every one called to 
preach will have to stand in the pulpit : a person may 



MY CALL TO THE MINISTRY 53 

preach by his life and conduct." Mother was the 
only other person to whom I told the story of my 
call, until I began my ministry. 



54 TRIALS AND TRIUMPHS OF FAITH 

Chapter VIII 
Seven Years of Preparation 

Although God had given me a very clear, definite 
call to the ministry, and had made very plain his 
purpose in regard to me, yet he did not immediately 
send me out to preach the gospel. Nearly seven 
years elapsed between the call and the sending — 
years in which the Lord led me and in which oc- 
curred a number of incidents that had a very im- 
portant influence on my life. These together with 
some other incidents connected with them, v/hich 
occurred in after years, will be related in this chap- 
ter. 

About the time of my call to the ministry, but 
whether shortly before or soon afterwards, I do not 
remember, I was again confined to my bed from 
September to March. During a part of this time I 
was entirely helpless ; but oh, with how much greater 
fortitude did I bear my sickness now than I did in 
my fifteenth year! God in his infinite love and 
mercy had brought about a wonderful change. In- 
stead of being tortured and tormented, and in des- 
peration wishing myself dead, the nearer I ap- 
proached death, the happier I became. At times it 
seemed that the angels were hovering over me. One 
night I dreamed that my time had come and that I 
swooned away, falling into my sister's arms. I 



SEVEN YEARS OF PREPARATION 55 

thought I heard Sister say, "Mother, she is dying." 
"Sister," I asked, "do you call this death?" 'Yes," 
was the reply. "If this is death," I answered, "I 
could die always; it is so sweet, so heavenly, so 
satisfying." 

But my couch at this time was not altogether a 
bed of roses. I suffered greatly and was easily dis- 
couraged. I realized that I needed much help and 
wished that God would in some way send me con- 
solation. The voice of God's Spirit spoke directly 
to my soul, "If I send you consolation in a dream, 
will you accept it?" I answered, "Yes, Lord, any 
way." 

That night I dreamed that I was in Father's yard, 
under a shade tree. Looking around me, I saw 
some things that were not pleasant; but when it oc- 
curred to me to look at myself, I found that I was 
robed in pure white. My soul was stirred as by 
heavenly music. Although I had never been able to 
sing, yet now I felt as though I could not keep from 
trying. My voice rang out like the clear notes of 
a nightingale; and all at once I was joined by a 
myriad of heavenly voices. The air was full of 
music. Peal after peal of the heavenly anthem struck 
upon my ear, and in my dream I exclaimed, "Is 
heaven so near the earth as this? Surely I hear the 
angels singing! Such music I have never heard 
upon earth!" Then I awoke with this scripture 
sounding in my ears: 'The angel of the Lord en- 
campeth round about them that fear him and de- 



56 TRIALS AND TRIUMPHS OF FAITH 

livereth them." Without a doubt, the angels were 
around me. The strength and comfort I received 
in my soul that night were like Elijah's meal, in the 
strength of which he went forty days. Even now, 
the thought of my experience sends a thrill of heav- 
enly encouragement to my soul. 

One evening when I was about twenty-three years 
old, we were having family worship, and all the 
saved members of the family had prayed; I felt 
impressed that if we should have a second season of 
prayer, God would do something unusual for us. 
As the different members of the family were praying 
the second time, my youngest Brother, George, ten 
years old, was being deeply wrought upon by the 
Spirit of God. He arose from his knees and started 
to my chair. As he was in his stocking feet, and 
moved noiselessly across the floor, nobody saw him. 
Before he got to my chair his heart failed him, and 
he went back to where he had been kneeling. Again 
the Spirit of God worked upon his heart stronger 
than before; he came to where I was kneeling and 
said, "Mary, I want to be saved too." We im- 
mediately called upon God in his behalf; the Lord 
wonderfully saved him; and after that he took part 
in family worship. 

God had now given me such a love for my 
younger brothers that when they got into their little 
troubles they would come to me for help and con- 
solation, as Mother with her large family and many 
cares had but little time to devote to their spiritual 



SEVEN YEARS OF PREPARATION 57 

welfare. This small burden that God placed on 
me was doubtless for my good. When the boys got 
into little quarrels, they would come to me, and I 
would say to them, "Do you know the scripture, 
'Only by pride cometh contention'?" 'Yes." "Do 
you know what the matter is then?" 'Yes, I am 
up a little." "Do you know what you have to do?" 
'Yes, to get down." And soon their difficulty 
would be settled. God wonderfully blessed my 
soul in thus helping my younger brothers; and all 
unaware to myself, I was being prepared for my 
future work. 

I believe that I, as much as most children, always 
honored my father; and, after I was saved, I be- 
lieve I honored him as much as God required. In 
the incidents I am now about to relate, I mean to 
cast no reflection upon the memory of my father, 
now many years gone to his final reward; but I tell 
them that they may prove a blessing to others. 

My father was not living a Christian life satis- 
factory even to himself; and, as a result, the enemy 
could at times use him as his instrument. Nervous 
and afflicted as I was in my childhood days, I was 
afraid of Father when he yielded to the enemy; but 
after I was saved the Lord gave me much help on 
this line. At times, however, when Father was much 
under the influence of the enemy, the trials were so 
severe that Mother and I frequently had to seek 
God for help two or three times a day. The Lord 
always came to our rescue and lifted us above the 



58 TRIALS AND TRIUMPHS OF FAITH 

trial. When Father showed his better self, he was 
very dear to all of us. 

When my brother Harley was about fourteen 
years of age, he was saved and living as true a Chris- 
tian life as one would expect of a boy his age. It 
seemed at this time that the enemy was especially 
operating through Father to crush and discourage 
the child. God stirred up my soul to protect him 
and to keep him from giving way entirely. One 
day Harley went on an errand for Father and the 
mule that he rode accidentally got his ankle hurt. 
When he returned, Father was very much dis- 
pleased, and said to my brother, "If you can do no 
better than that, you had better go to bed." 

This was in the evening. I picked up the family 
Bible, walked across the room to my father and said, 
"We are all willing to go to bed, but we usually 
have family worship first. Won't you read and 
pray?" 'You can read and pray yourself if you 
want to," said he. So I sat down and read, and 
then we knelt down and prayed; God's power came 
like a mighty wave from the glory world, filling the 
room. When we arose from our knees Father had 
disappeared. 

A few minutes later, when one of my brothers 
went to the barn, Father said to him, "What is that 
noise at the house?" My brother answered, "God 
has given us the victory, and Mary is shouting." 
"Well," said Father, "that won't do the mule any 
good;" but the boy answered quickly, "Well, we 



SEVEN YEARS OF PREPARATION 59 

weren't praying for the mule," and Father never 
said anything more about the injury to the mule. 

At another time Harley was lying very sick, and 
the enemy stirred Father up to treat him cruelly. 
He told my brother that if he didn't get up, he 
would give him a good whipping. He started to 
get the whip. In the meanwhile, my soul was stirred 
to its limit; God seemed to move my very being to 
protect the child. I knew that he was really sick 
and that the enemy was using Father for his own 
purpose. 

I went into the room where my brother was lying 
and stood near him. When father returned, he 
could see me standing by the head of the old-fash- 
ioned bedstead near one of its high posts. He knew 
by my looks that I was there to shield the sick boy. 
He ordered me out, but I made no reply. He tried 
to remove me by force from where I was standing; 
but I held on to the bedpost until finally by a strong 
jerk he succeeded in loosing my hold and gave me 
a push that threw me across the floor a number of 
feet away, where I fell and went to praying. God 
answered prayer, and gave us the victory, and 
Father left the room without another word. Be- 
fore beginning to resist Father, I had made up my 
mind to take the whipping myself, rather than see 
my sick brother imposed upon; but God intervened, 
and I did not have to suffer. Every time I inter- 
fered, Father seemed to realize that it was not I, 
but God who was reproving him. 



60 TRIALS AND TRIUMPHS OF FAITH 

I was now about twenty- four or twenty-five years 
of age and I felt that the Lord wanted me to make 
a few suggestions to Father about his treatment of 
me. I told him that he should be careful lest he lay 
himself liable to the law. He answered me harshly, 
but it seemed that God put his fear on him, for that 
was the last time Father became violent toward me. 

Shortly before my healing, which will be de- 
scribed in the next chapter, I had a very peculiar 
dream in which I saw the whole family sitting at 
the table eating. Father held in his hand an iron 
mallet which he began to motion in a threatening 
way toward Mother. I thought that he intended to 
take her life with the mallet. Then I thought, 
"Mother has been so good and kind to me that I 
can not bear to stay in the room and see this deed 
done." I started for the door. As I went, God 
spoke to me, saying, "Pray; ask for the strength of 
a Samson, if need be; and I will give it." I began 
praying and God answered. His strength and power 
came over me. I can not express how strong I felt 
as I went to my father, took the iron mallet out of 
his hand. He was like a little child in my hands. 
I held him until he promised he would never do so 
again ; and all the while his face was twitching with 
fear, and he was trembling like a leaf. 

When I was healed, God put much of his divine 
power into both my soul and body. It seemed that 
I was just filled with God and that I thrilled with 
his presence, until at times I was not on earth, but 



SEVEN YEARS OF PREPARATION 61 

rather in heaven. At one such time Father began to 
bring false accusations against Harley. His unkind 
manner, as well as the false charges, showed that he 
was actuated by a wrong spirit. God seemed to 
again stir my soul to speak in behalf of the boy. At 
first Father did not comprehend that God was talk- 
ing through me, and spoke roughly; but he soon 
realized that God was using my lips of clay ; the fear 
of the Lord came upon him, and he trembled like a 
leaf. I saw that God had fulfilled my dream, that 
he had helped me to take the iron mallet out of 
Father's hand. So far as I know, Father never 
acted so cruelly toward my brother again. 

I wish to warn children who read this narrative 
not to use this incident to their own shame. If the 
Spirit of the Lord should ever lead you to resist your 
father or mother, he will give you the power to win 
a victory for truth and righteousness; but, if, on the 
other hand, you resist your parents in your own 
strength, or for selfish purposes, you will bring upon 
yourself shame and confusion. Even if you should 
succeed in having your own way, either through 
force of will or through your parents* meekly yield- 
ing to you, God will make you feel the shame of 
your wrong-doing. 

In my personal dealings with Father, God mani- 
fested himself and showed himself mighty in caring 
for me. Once as we were going to meeting, the 
team became frightened and hard to hold and I 
became so frightened that I had a spasm after we 



62 TRIALS AND TRIUMPHS OF FAITH 

got to meeting. Father was ashamed because I 
had had a spasm in public. He seemed to think he 
was disgraced, and concluded that in the future I 
should stay at home. I was now saved and sancti- 
fied and enjoyed very much attending public serv- 
ices, so Mother and I prayed earnestly that God 
would put it into Father's heart to let me attend 
meetings again. Our prayers were answered and I 
had no more difficulty until sometime afterwards. 
At that time I had been to a meeting several miles 
from home and had remained over night with some 
friends without asking permission. As a punishment, 
Father again refused to allow me to go to church. 

Again Mother and I sought the Lord with prayer 
and fasting, and the Lord soon showed me that we 
had gained the victory. We felt impressed, how- 
ever, to spend another day in fasting and prayer. 
Although Father did not know that we were pray- 
ing, he came to me and said, "Mary, you can go to 
meeting"; and from that time he never kept me at 
home from services. 

Father owned the farm on which we lived in 
Pettis County, Missouri. It contained 244 acres 
of fairly good land and was sufficiently stocked. 
Although, in a financial way, father was doing as 
well as his neighbors, he had for a number of years 
been growing discontented. These periods of dis- 
contentment seemed especially to trouble him in the 
spring before farm work began. At such times he 



SEVEN YEARS OF PREPARATION 63 

wanted to mortgage his farmland and to move out of 
the country. 

Every spring for a number of years, Mother and 
I would get on our knees and pray earnestly to God 
that he would overrule Father's roving disposition 
and make him content to stay at home. Again and 
again the dear Lord was gracious and answered our 
petition. Things would go on well for a while, but 
with the coming of the next spring, we would again 
have the same experience. 

One spring when we took to our knees as usual 
to pray in behalf of Father, the Lord gave me to 
understand that our petition would not be answered, 
that Father would have his own way. This seemed 
almost unbearable, and I cried and prayed for 
Father until I almost lost my voice. God answered 
my petition with this suggestion: "If nothing else 
but to go among strangers and have a hard time will 
bring your father to the Lord are you willing that 
he should go?" I answered, "Lord, from this 
standpoint, but from no other." From that time the 
burden left me. Father went, and the Lord said to 
me, "Now you have no excuse for not going into 
gospel work." Father had been unwilling for me 
to go, and with his going my last excuse was re- 
moved. 

Father went first to Oregon, but some years later 
came back as far as Wymore, Nebraska, where he 
bought property and settled. A few years later he 
came and stayed with us at home for one winter. 



64 TRIALS AND TRIUMPHS OF FAITH 

In a meeting that my brother George, Sister Lodema 
Kaser, and I held in Wymore, Father sought the 
Lord and seemed to get a real experience of salva- 
tion. 

Later he had some little difficulty in retaining 
his experience. He got tried at some of the brethren 
and thought he would leave the church, as he had 
formerly done in sectarianism. He found, however, 
that in leaving the church he was leaving God, since 
people can get out of the church of God only through 
sin. Soon after this he began to be troubled with 
heart failure. He lived only a few months. My 
sister who cared for him in his last illness, informed 
me that at the time of his death he was fully restored 
to the fellowship of the church and that for some 
months before he died, he showed every sign of be- 
ing prepared. God assured me that Father was 
saved, yet as by fire. This seemed a real miracle as 
much of the time Father's religious experience had 
not been satisfactory. We serve a mighty God who 
works miracles: some of Father's children had been 
praying so earnestly for him that God would not 
let them be disappointed. I believe I shall meet 
him in the glory world. 

At the time my youngest brothers were saved, 
and shortly afterwards I was an invalid and unable 
to go to meeting on Sunday. They took turn about 
staying with me, while my parents went to meeting. 
As soon as the rest of the family were gone, we 
would take down the family Bible and ask the Lord 



SEVEN YEARS OF PREPARATION 65 

to help us to turn to some scripture that would be 
good for us. Then we would read. Whenever we 
came to a promise, we would ask the Lord to help 
us claim that promise and to get out of it all the 
benefit that God had in it for us. After reading, 
we would get down and pray asking God to help 
us retain what we had read and to make it a blessing 
to us. 

When the family would come home from meet- 
ing, Mother would tell us all she could remember 
of the sermon, as she was anxious to get to me all 
the encouragement she could. As we listened to 
Mother's account of the services, we realized that 
we had had the best meeting. 

This fact became so noticeable that whenever 
they wanted George to go to meeting, he would say, 
"No, I want to stay with Mary." After the others 
were gone, he would say, "Mary, let us read as we 
did the other Sunday." "George," I would an- 
swer, "I feel so weak this morning; I don't feel able 
to hold the Bible" (it was a very large book), 
"Mary, I will hold the Bible, if you will do the 
reading." Weak as I was, I could not refuse, and 
we would begin, asking God to direct us, stopping 
to claim each promise, and asking God to bless the 
Word to our good, and to help us to remember all 
that would be helpful to us. We continued this 
practise until I was healed and able to attend the 
meetings again. I shall never be able to tell the 
profit that I derived from this little Bible school. 



66 TRIALS AND TRIUMPHS OF FAITH 

God himself was our teacher, and through this re- 
sponsibility he was preparing me for greater useful- 
ness. 

It was during this period of apparent inactivity 
that God gave me my first experience of divine heal- 
ing. At that time I think I was about twenty-five 
years of age. I was ignorant that the Lord is as 
willing and as able to heal our bodies as he is to 
save our souls. I was suffering greatly with a swell- 
ing on the inside of my jaw that entirely closed my 
mouth. The doctor said he would not dare to 
lance the swelling as the tendons and arteries lay 
so near that such an operation would be dangerous. 
He prescribed a poultice, and said that the swelling 
would probably break in about three days. 

I went home suffering greatly : I felt that I could 
not endure any more. I told my two youngest 
brothers, who knew how to pray and cast their bur- 
dens on the Lord, to call on God earnestly that he 
would either relieve me of the suffering or give me 
grace to bear it. Soon they came to my room: one 
said, "I prayed for the Lord either to relieve you 
or give you grace to bear the pain," and the other 
said, "I prayed the Lord to relieve you." In ten 
minutes every bit of suffering was gone. A sweet 
calm settled over my body; and to my happy sur- 
prise, I found that the swelling had broken. It was 
soon gone. I suffered no more pain, and next day 
was able to go to meeting. 

About a year later I made the acquaintance of 



SEVEN YEARS OF PREPARATION 67 

a young man to whom I soon became greatly at- 
tached. After a time we became engaged. As I 
had learned to seek the mind of the Lord in all 
things, I did not find it hard to submit the question 
of matrimony to his will. The fact that I had had 
my own way so long, made me feel sure that the 
Lord was going to let me have my own way about 
my marriage. But this consideration did not at all 
affect my consecration, either at this time or when 
I sought God for healing. When I sought God for 
healing, he showed me that he wanted my entire 
service, and that I must seek his benefits for his 
glory only. It was wholly for God's glory, there- 
fore, that I sought healing. 

Perhaps some of the young ministers and workers 
who read this book will wonder at the long period 
of inactivity, as some might call it, between my call 
to the ministry and the time when I actually began 
gospel work. I now look back upon this period as a 
time filled with blessed experiences that moulded my 
character, established my faith and peculiarly fitted 
me for the work to which God had called me. I 
have always been glad that the Lord had his way. 
This time was not lost. Like Joseph in prison, 
whom God was educating to be a prince, I was be- 
ing prepared in God's own way for future useful- 
ness. 

During this time of which I am now speaking, 
God laid it upon my heart to read the many good 
books, which now fell into my hands, such as Phoebe 



68 TRIALS AND TRIUMPHS OF FAITH 

Palmer's Works — "Faith and Its Effects/* "Sanc- 
tification Practical,'* and 'Tell Jesus." The last 
named book was especially helpful in forming my 
Christian character, containing as it does so many 
precious experiences of trusting in God. I had the 
privilege also of reading the works of Mrs. Fletcher, 
Hester Ann Rodgers, and John Wesley. For the 
privilege of reading all these, I give God thanks. 
I put the experiences of which I read to a practical 
test, thus proving that what God had done for others, 
he would do for me also. After the test these nar- 
rations of God's marvelous dealings were no longer 
stories in a book, but they had become my own 
personal experiences. 

At different times I have hunted awhile for some 
lost article, when the Lord would come with these 
words: "Tell Jesus." I would tell him and soon I 
would find the missing article. He would even di- 
rect me to the very spot where it lay concealed. Soon 
after I read the book, "Tell Jesus," I took my sew- 
ing machine apart thinking that I could clean it and 
put it together again, just as one of my lady friends 
had done. I soon found that I was not skilful 
enough, told Jesus, and obtained help to get the 
machine together all right. 

Sometimes when I was not near a jeweler, my 
watch would get out of repair, and I would earnestly 
ask the Lord to fix it for me, provided he could do 
so without my becoming fanatical or being led 
wrong. A number of times he answered my prayer. 



SEVEN YEARS OF PREPARATION 69 

One time I remember, I let my watch fall and it was 
greatly damaged; but I could not get to a jeweler to 
have it repaired. As I felt the need of the watch 
very much, I asked the Lord earnestly to please fix 
it for me. The watch soon began running. I in- 
tended to take the watch to a jeweler later; but as 
it kept perfect time I did not need to take it. 

During all these years God was teaching me as 
rapidly as he could, lessons of faith and trust. In 
every severe trial or test, no matter what its nature, 
I would earnestly lay my trouble before God and 
he would marvelously lift me up and give me vic- 
tory. At such times he would give me precious 
promises such as these: "When the enemy comes in 
like a flood, the Spirit of the Lord shall lift up a 
standard against him;" 'The desire of the righteous 
shall be granted;" 'They that trust in the Lord 
shall not be confounded, and shall not lack any 
good thing." 

From the beginning, my spiritual life was one of 
trials; but thank God, the trials were always fol- 
lowed by triumphs. 'Thanks be to God who giv- 
eth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ." 
In such experiences, I learned what has been veri- 
fied to me again and again throughout the course of 
my life, that it pays to cast all our cares and burdens 
upon him who has promised to bear them for us; to 
leave everything with him; to lay ourselves and 
all we possess at his feet, trusting him to care for 
us and to carry our sorrows. God wants just such 



70 TRIALS AND TRIUMPHS OF FAITH 

an opportunity. He is a wonderful God, a very 
present help at all times. 'They that trust in the 
Lord shall be as Mount Zion, which can not be 
moved, but abideth forever." "As the mountains 
are round about Jerusalem, so is the Lord round 
about his people from henceforth even forever." 

Dear young ministers and workers, God may 
call you to his work and send you forth at once into 
the field; but do not be impatient or discouraged if 
the Lord sees fit to have you tarry awhile after he 
has called you. Remember, you are implements in 
the hands of the Lord. As workers called of the 
Lord, you should be like clay for the Master's use. 
Be careful, however, lest you become marred in 
God's hands as was the vessel that Jeremiah saw in 
the hands of the potter. 

Do not get in God's way and so spoil his design. 
Remember that Jesus at twelve years old knew that 
he must be about his Father's business; but he was 
thirty before he began his ministry. Remember 
that John the Baptist tarried in the wilderness for a 
long time before he began preaching on the banks 
of Jordan. Remember that the disciples spent ten 
days in the upper room before power came upon 
them from on high. You know this; nor do you 
think that these times of tarrying were wasted. 
Neither will your time of waiting be lost. Abide 
God's time; then, when you do enter upon your 
ministry, you will go, sustained by his power and 
by his blessing. 



TRIALS AND TRIUMPHS OF FAITH 71 

Chapter IX 
Healed by Divine Power 

I have now to relate what to me is one of the 
most important events of my life. Up to this time 
I had been a hopeless invalid. The doctors could 
not cure me. Under the care of some, my health 
would improve for a short time; but others would 
not undertake to do anything for me. After inquir- 
ing into my condition, they would say that it would 
be as easy to make a world as to restore me to health. 
I remember especially that this remark was made by 
the doctor who was attending me shortly before my 
healing. At the time I was healed, my case was in 
the hands of a specialist, who said he could give me 
no permanent relief in less than a year. 

Having no hope of help from the doctor and hav- 
ing been taught that the days of divine healing were 
past, I concluded that there was no hope for me, 
and that the Lord intended me to be made perfect 
through suffering. In the spring of 1 880, my oldest 
brother, who had been greatly afflicted with chronic 
dyspepsia, was healed in answer to prayer. Not 
until that time did I know that any one had been 
healed by divine power since the days of the apostles. 
I did not consider the healing which I have already 
related a healing, but a special miracle performed 
in answer to prayer. As he and I were the invalids 
of the family, we naturally sympathized a great 



72 , TRIALS AND TRIUMPHS OF FAITH 

deal with each other, opened our hearts to each 
other, shared all our troubles and sorrows. 

During the summer of the year I have just men- 
tioned, my brother came home and began to tell 
how well he was. "Jeremiah, what patent medicine 
have you been taking?" He looked at me, smiled 
and said, "Mary, if you will take the kind of medi- 
cine I have, you will be well too." "What kind 
is that?" "It is faith and prayer — the Lord's word 
received by faith." This was all new to me — just 
like a strange language. I asked no more questions, 
for I did not know what to say. 

Finally, Mother, who had been listening to the 
conversation, said to him, "Can you eat a raw egg 
if I get it for you?" His health had been so poor 
that at times he could eat nothing but a raw egg, 
and frequently he would refuse even that. "Mother," 
he replied, "I can eat two eggs if you can spare that 
many, and you may cook them for me." When 
Mother cooked the eggs, he looked at her and said, 
"Mother, have you any meat?" She looked at him 
doubtfully, and not comprehending what God had 
done for his body, said, "I don't believe I will give 
you any meat this time." He made no reply, know- 
ing that she did not understand. 

It was October before I saw my brother again. 
Another swelling had appeared on my jaw, stopping 
my mouth so that I could take my food only in a 
liquid form, sucking it through my teeth. My brother 
again encouraged me to trust the Lord, quoting 



HEALED BY DIVINE POWER 73 

God's promises to heal the body and relating a num- 
ber of instances that he had witnessed where persons 
were healed of fits and other serious afflictions. I 
told my brother that I did not doubt that the Lord 
had healed others, but said that I did not know 
whether or not he wanted to heal me. "Perhaps," 
said I, "he is leaving me afflicted to keep me humble. 
If I were healed, I might not keep saved." My 
brother showed me that God was just as willing to 
heal me as he was to heal anybody else, and that 
it was both my duty and privilege to trust God for 
my healing. "Look over your consecration," said 
he "and see if you are willing to be healed for God's 
glory alone." 

I thought the matter over for some days. One 
day I prayed for my healing until I thought I could 
claim it by faith; but I soon found that the work 
was not done. Upon waking a few mornings later, 
I said to myself, "I am going to let the Lord heal me 
today if he will." Then the enemy whispered, 
'You have not enough faith yet to be healed; put 
it off a week or two, and by that time your faith 
will be stronger." Then came the voice of Jesus, 
"Oh thou of little faith; wherefore didst thou 
doubt." Dropping on my knees, I cried "Lord if 
it is unbelief, take it out root and branch"; and I 
knew he did. Then I said, "Lord, what next?" 
He then showed me I should pour out my medicine. 
God revealed to me that I was to be severely 
tempted, and that if I had any medicine about, 



74 TRIALS AND TRIUMPHS OF FAITH 

that I would be sure to take it and so lose faith for 
healing. 

God was now bringing me to a place where I 
must choose between trusting God and disbelieving 
his promises. As a first act of faith on my part, I 
poured out my medicine. God showed me that if 
I were to doubt the Scriptures: "Who healeth all 
thy diseases"; "The prayer of faith shall save the 
sick," etc, I would not stop until I should reject all 
his Word, die an infidel, be lost in hell, and per- 
haps be the means of the loss of scores of other 
souls. 

I said to Mother, "If you ever prayed earnestly 
for me, pray now." So we bowed together. After 
she prayed, I began praying, claimed the promise 
in Matt. 18: 19: "Lord, thou hast said, that if two 
shall agree on earth as touching anything that they 
shall ask, it shall be done for them of the Father 
which is in heaven. Now, Lord, we are agreed 
that thou shalt heal me — soul, mind, body, and 
spirit as completely as is most to thy glory." As I 
said this, I laid hold on the healing power by faith, 
the witness came from heaven, and the work was 
done. I arose from my knees saying, "Mother, it 
is done! I am healed! I am healed!" I felt the vir- 
tue go through my body; and, oh, the showers of 
heavenly grace that filled my soul! I began to 
praise the Lord. Oh, it was heavenly! "My soul 
was joyful in glory," for God filled my soul. Then 
was fulfilled that which was spoken by the prophet 



HEALED BY DIVINE POWER 75 

Isaiah saying, 'Then shall the lame man leap as 
an hart and the tongue of the dumb sing: for in the 
wilderness shall waters break out and streams in 
the desert" (Isa. 35:6). 

This was the beginning of a new epoch in my 
life, the beginning of months to me. It was the 
first time in my recollection that I could say I was 
well: the first bright hope of health that I had ever 
had in this world. That same day I could eat and 
drink without the slightest distress, anything that 
was fit for a sound stomach. I had never been able 
to do this before. 

But that night the trial came. It seemed that all 
hell was let loose to try to rob me of my healing 
faith and to bring back all my diseases. Had I not 
poured out my medicine, I surely would have 
yielded. Having no other refuge, I clung to the 
promises of God, and rebuked the devil until 2 
o'clock in the morning. Then I saw fulfilled God's 
promise: "Resist the devil and he will flee from 
you"; and there was a great calm. It seemed that 
the angels came and ministered unto me. My joy 
was full ; my cup ran over. When morning came I 
began praising the Lord; and for several days, I 
walked the floor offering almost ceaseless praises to 
God. The story was circulated throughout the 
neighborhood, "Mary Cole is having a whole 
camp-meeting by herself. She claims that God has 
healed her; but as soon as the excitement wears off, 
she will be as bad as ever." 



76 TRIALS AND TRIUMPHS OF FAITH 

My appetite was now good, and my strength 
increased daily. Soon I was able to attend a pro- 
tracted meeting held by the Methodists, of which 
denomination I was still a member. When oppor- 
tunity was given for testimonies, I arose and told of 
God's wonderful dealings with me — how he had 
pardoned all my sins, made me his child, afterwards 
sanctified me wholly, and how he had recently 
healed my poor afflicted body. I exhorted them to 
get rid of unbelief and to move out for God on the 
Bible promises. After meeting, the preacher came 
to talk to me about my experience. He said he did 
not doubt that I had been healed, but I must not 
testify to it, "for" said he, "the people can not 
stand so much light." 

I very foolishly concluded to follow the preach- 
er's advice; and immediately the flood-gates of hell 
seemed to open. The powers of darkness seemed 
to gather to destroy both soul and body — my mind 
was almost reeling; intense suffering began in my 
body. God showed me that I had broken my con- 
tract with him in order to please a blinded preacher. 
My feelings were indescribable. I did not know 
what to do ; but God showed me that if I would re- 
new my covenant with him, resist the devil, and 
obey God in all things, all would be well. I obeyed 
God, and my faith again became unwavering; my 
strength began to increase; and a large scrofulous 
ulcer that had appeared on my face, soon went 
away. My blood became pure; and warmth, such 



HEALED BY DIVINE POWER 77 

as I had never felt before, came into my body. I 
could now sleep comfortably with half as much 
covering on my bed as I formerly required. 

Since my first healing, I have had a few attacks 
of sickness but God has healed me every time. In 
the thirty-four years that have elapsed since I began 
to trust the Lord for the healing of my body, I have 
never resorted to doctors, nor have I taken any medi- 
cine. I have been as well as the average person, 
and have been able to do work as hard as God has 
required of me. I recommend God as a physician. 
At the time I was healed of my other bodily afflic- 
tions, I was also relieved of stammering. It is true 
I stammer some yet, at times, but not nearly so much 
as I did formerly; and not enough to prevent my 
preaching the Word. 

At the time of my healing, Marion, one of my 
unsaved brothers, was batching near the old home 
place. He frequently spent his evenings at home, 
sometimes lying on chairs drawn up in front of the 
old-fashioned fireplace. On the Wednesday after 
il was healed, I found him lying before the fire and 
said to him, "O Marion, have you heard the good 
news? The Lord has healed me." And he said, 
"Do you mean that he has healed you or that he has 
healed that sore on your face?" "I mean that he 
has healed me, sore and all." Then I went out of 
the room praising the Lord. Near the close of that 
same week, Marion attended the revival meeting 
then going on at the M. E. Church, came to the 



78 TRIALS AND TRIUMPHS OF FAITH 

altar, and got gloriously saved. Mother went to 
speak to him and to rejoice with him. 'The Lord 
has been good to you, my son, to save you." 'Yes," 
he answered, "I thought if the Lord could heal 
Mary when the doctors gave her up, he could save 
a poor sinner like me." 

In the years that have passed since the Lord so 
graciously healed me, I have witnessed many cases 
of healing. One that especially appealed to me 
• occurred in December, 1880, at the Jacksonville, 
Illinois, Holiness Convention, where my brother 
Jeremiah first met D. S. Warner. I was not a wit- 
ness to this incident, but I relate it as my brother, 
who was present, told the story. 

A lady by the name of Sarah Gillillen, who was 
afflicted with a very bad internal cancer, came to 
that meeting. Several months before the doctors 
had told her that her case was beyond their skill. 
She felt impressed that she would be healed at this 
meeting, and Jeremiah, Brother Warner, and others 
were very much interested in her case. They sought 
to encourage her and to strengthen her faith as they 
had opportunity. Her faith in God seemed to in- 
crease rapidly. 

One Sunday morning she said that the Lord had 
shown her that if she would get up that morning and 
testify to her healing he would finish the work. She 
got up before the large audience and began to give 
her testimony. A rule had been adopted that if 
any one testified too long, the congregation should 



HEALED BY DIVINE POWER 79 

sing him down. As Sister Gillillen testified for 
some time, they started to sing her down; but one 
of the ministers said, "Brethren, let her alone. This 
thing is of God." She continued her testimony; but 
before she got through, the power of God came 
down, her face shone with glory, and right then and 
there God finished her healing. She was made per- 
fectly well. 



80 TRIALS AND TRIUMPHS OF FAITH 

Chapter X 
Entering the Gospel Field 

During the seven years that had elapsed since 
my call to preach the gospel, years in which God 
had so wonderfully taught me and so gently led 
me, I never doubted my call. By the help and 
grace of God I had been able to live pleasing to the 
Lord, and throughout the entire time had no knowl- 
edge of his condemnation or displeasure. 

I was still engaged to the young man of whom I 
have already spoken; and after my healing, began 
to make preparations for the wedding. I was fully 
submitted to the Lord on the question of matrimony ; 
but as my life had been running along ii: such a 
pleasant, even course, and as I had been having my 
own way in nearly everything, I felt that God was 
going to let me have my way in this matter also, 
when to my surprise, God made clear to me that I 
should not marry. He showed me that he had 
chosen me for himself, and that he had first right. 
He brought to my mind such scriptures as this: 
'Thy maker is thy husband; the Lord of Hosts is 
his name." As I submitted, the Lord did not leave 
me comfortless. He showed me that I was not able 
to fulfil both the mission he had given me, and the 
life that I had contemplated. 

For so long a time now since my call to the gospel 
work I had been at home enjoying the companion- 



ENTERING THE GOSPEL FIELD 81 

ship of my mother and of my brothers and sisters, 
doing the little things that God had given me to do, 
and feeling the approval of God upon my soul, I 
had failed to seek God earnestly to see if he would 
have me move out in active gospel work. In May 
of the year 1882, my brother Jeremiah, who had 
been out in the active ministry, returned home. One 
day he said to me, "Mary, did not the Lord call 
you to preach his gospel?" 'Yes," I replied. 
"Has he not shown you that that is your future 
work?" "I thought he had in the past, but it is not 
clear now." "Do you want to know why it is not 
clear to you now?" My brother then showed me 
that I had not been as diligent as I should in seek- 
ing to know God's will in the matter, that I had 
taken too much for granted that the Lord would 
have me continue doing as I had been for the past 
seven years. He asked me to pray about going 
with him into the work at that time. I did as he 
requested; but, as I was not anxious for an answer, 
did not pray earnestly enough, and as a result, no 
answer came. 

It was not long until Jeremiah asked me if I had 
prayed about my going with him into the work. I 
answered that I had, but when he asked me what 
the Lord had shown me, I was obliged to say, 
"Nothing." "Well," he replied, "As you are not 
decided I suppose I would better go right on to the 
meeting of the holiness association at Salisbury and 
not wait for you." Seeing that my brother was not 



82 TRIALS AND TRIUMPHS OF FAITH 

satisfied with my answer, I again went to prayer. 
This time I called upon God with all my heart ; and 
the Lord showed me that I could go into the minis- 
try and be saved or I could stay at home and lose 
my soul. 

Doubtless no young minister, no matter how con- 
secrated he may be to the will of God, finds it easy 
to take his first step in gospel work. I was no ex- 
ception to the rule. Twice already when I arose in 
the public assembly to bear witness to God's deal- 
ings with me, my testimony became an exhortation, 
and God spoke through me to the edification of the 
people; but I had so far done no preaching, and 
now that I had reached the decision to go with my 
brother into the active ministry, I was conscious of 
conflicting emotions. On the one hand, I was glad 
to go in obedience to God, and on the other I hesi- 
tated to take the first step. Besides the natural 
human shrinking from taking the first step, I knew 
how Mother would feel about my going, and felt 
bad to grieve one who had been so kind to me. 
You must understand, however, that Mother's feel- 
ing about my going into gospel work was very dif- 
ferent from Father's opposition of which I have al- 
ready spoken. 

At the time I broke the news to Mother, she was 
going through a severe trial. It was about a week 
after I had my talk with Jeremiah. "Mother," said 
I, "if you had a child that had been afflicted with 
a disease that had baffled the skill of all the physi- 



ENTERING THE GOSPEL FIELD 83 

cians she had consulted, and finally one physician 
undertook the case and performed the cure with 
the consideration that your child should go and 
work for him whenever and wherever he wished, 
would you let the child go?" Mother said, "I know 
just what you mean. If nothing else will do, you 
may go." "Mother, as I go out into an unfriendly 
world, I do not expect to have an easy time; but I 
believe it would not be so hard to endure the buf- 
fetings of the world, if I could look back and think 
that my mother gave me up gladly to the Lord, who 
has done so much for me." We went into earnest 
prayer and God gave us victory over the trial. When 
a week later Mother accompanied me to the train, 
there were no tears in our eyes. Almost five years 
passed before I saw her face again. 

Before starting from home, Mother had said to 
me, "Mary, here is a little change to buy your 
stamps and envelopes." As I reached out my hand, 
my brother said, "Mary do not take that money; 
Mother will need it. The Lord will provide you 
with stamps and envelopes." I thought, "Why does 
he talk that way ? Even if he can trust God, I can't ; 
and he ought to let me take the money." He knew 
better than I. The Lord provided all the stamps 
and envelopes I needed. Indeed, I do not remem- 
ber a time that I had to wait long to write a letter 
for the want of stamp or envelope. As I exercised 
myself in trusting the Lord, my faith grew; so that 
I had no fear but that God would provide everything 



84 TRIALS AND TRIUMPHS OF FAITH 

I needed — my carfare, my clothing, and even a little 
money to give to the cause. 

The first place my brother and I visited was 
Salisbury, Mo., where a holiness convention was be- 
ing held. A large concourse of people from all 
parts of the United States were assembled in the 
large new tobacco factory, which at that time had 
not been used. When we reached the place, the 
meeting had been in session for several days. A 
number of souls had been saved; but at the time 
of our arrival, not many of the people felt the power 
of conviction. 

On the Sunday after our arrival, the minister 
who had charge of the meeting got up and said, 
'The Lord has not given me a message this morning, 
but he has given a message to some one here. If the 
person who has the message does not deliver it, he 
will be responsible." The pulpit was filled with 
ministers, and workers were sitting all around 
nearby. I was on my feet in a moment. I had a 
message from heaven — burning words thaft: went 
right into the hearts of the people. God made my 
tongue as the pen of a ready writer. The power of 
God was on me in such measure that I could hardly 
tell whether I was in heaven or on earth. Even old 
men bowed themselves and wept like children, and 
sinners came flocking to the altar. Thank God for 
the blessing and encouragement that he gave me in 
delivering this my first public message! 

As soon as the service was ended, a merchant of 



ENTERING THE GOSPEL FIELD 85 

the town came and invited me to his home for 
dinner. I wondered why he should ask me to din- 
ner; but when he began to ask me all the difficult 
religious questions that he could think of, the mys- 
tery was explained. I felt my inability and ignor- 
ance as I never had before, and leaned heavily on 
God for wisdom. The scripture, "I will give you 
in that hour what ye ought to say," was fulfilled. 

After a number of difficult questions had been 
asked, my host said, "I want to ask you one more 
question." Supposing that this question would be 
so difficult that it would be impossible for me to 
answer, I called on God more vehemently than ever. 
Then came the question: "If you should die now, 
without a moment's warning, do you know that you 
are ready?" I was agreeably surprised. That was 
an easy question to answer. 'Yes," said I, with 
the utmost assurance. "I wish," said his wife, "I 
could say that"; and a lady who was present added, 
"I think I would have to pray before I should be 
ready." 

In my early evangelistic work I met considerable 
opposition to woman's preaching, and at nearly 
every meeting I had to explain the Scriptural teach- 
ing on this subject. Nearly all opponents to woman's 
preaching fortified themselves with such scriptures 
as these: "It is a shame for a woman to speak in 
the church"; "Suffer not a woman to teach or to 
usurp authority," etc. The Lord helped me to 
successfully drive these opposers out of their false 



86 TRIALS AND TRIUMPHS OF FAITH 

positions and to show them that they were misusing 
the Scriptures. 

In this connection, too, I would call attention to 
1 Cor. 11:5, which gives instructions how a woman 
should pray or prophesy. If a woman be instructed 
how to prophesy, she surely is granted the right to 
prophesy. The New Testament definition of 
"prophesy" is: "He that prophesieth speaketh unto 
men to edification, exhortation and comfort." If, 
then, a woman be allowed to prophesy; that is, to 
speak unto men to edification, exhortation, and com- 
fort, she is granted all the privileges that any min- 
ister enjoys. 

We read also in Acts 1:14 that after the as- 
cension when the disciples gathered in the upper 
room, 'There all continued with one accord in 
prayer and supplication, with the women, and Mary, 
the mother of Jesus, and with his brethren," which 
scripture proves that there were women present at 
the Pentecostal baptism. After the descent of the 
Holy Spirit upon those assembled, Peter says (Acts 
2: 16, 17), "But this is that which is spoken by 
the Prophet Joel; And it shall come to pass in the 
last days, saith God, I will pour out of my Spirit 
upon all flesh: and your sons and daughters shall 
prophesy, and your young men shall see visions and 
your old men shall dream dreams." We see then, 
according to the prophecy of Joel, that the daughters 
as well as the sons were to prophesy. According to 
Acts 2 : 4, they all spake as the Spirit gave them 



ENTERING THE GOSPEL FIELD 87 

utterance. Does not the "all" include the women 
present? Was not their speaking as the Spirit gave 
utterance the act of a minister in preaching? 

In Rom. 16:1 Paul says, "I commend unto you 
Phoebe, our sister, which is a servant of the church 
which is' at Cenchrea." Is not the servant of the 
church the minister? When they used to tell me 
that this scripture means that a woman could serve 
the church only by doing temporal work, such as 
cooking for ministers, etc., I would answer, "If the 
inference of this scripture is that a woman can serve 
the church by doing temporal work only, the 
preachers are not doing their duty, because in the 
second verse the Lord commanded the other min- 
isters to assist Phoebe. If then the women's only 
service be to cook for the ministers, the ministers, if 
they would obey this scripture, should certainly help 
the women cook. 

Before going to our second meeting, at Sturgeon, 
Mo., I had learned that the women in that place 
were not allowed to preach. On my arrival I asked 
some of the women if the sisters had liberty. "Yes," 
said they, "to pray and sing, and to testify a little." 
"Well," said I, "I can't sing; but I can pray, and 
'testify a little.' I learned that during this meeting 
a petition to license a saloon in the town had been 
drawn up and that a number of the women in at- 
tendance at the meeting had signed the petition. 
During the latter part of the meeting God's Spirit 
fired my soul to preach the Word, but I had no op- 



88 TRIALS AND TRIUMPHS OF FAITH 

portunity. I counseled with some of the ministers 
about it and received conflicting advice. Some 
said, "Sister Cole, you know the restrictions; you 
would better not preach." Others said, "Go ahead, 
Sister Cole: God will see you through." On the 
last night of the meeting, whenever I would decide 
to speak, God would bless my soul; but when I 
would decide to keep still, it seemed as if I should 
be paralyzed. One brother made a remark that 
had a strong tendency to keep me from speaking 
that evening: "If you get up on the last night of the 
meeting," said he, "it will look as if you were taking 
advantage of the man who has the meeting in 
charge." Finally, after two of the brethren had 
spoken for a short time, I felt clear to take the floor, 
and God spoke through me in power. 

I reminded them of the petition to license the 
saloon for the purpose of damning souls, and sending 
them to hell, and spoke of the women's names that 
had been signed to the petition to license the saloon. 
"From childhood," said I, "I have heard that woman 
is the downfall of this world. She is now offered 
the opportunity to destroy souls, but it is a shame 
and a disgrace to any town that its women are not 
allowed to preach in the church to help save souls. 
Before I came to this meeting, I knew the restric- 
tions; but I made up my mind that if I was thrown 
into the furnace of trial, I would go into that furnace 
praying for the one that had put the restrictions 
upon me." 



ENTERING THE GOSPEL FIELD 89 

The power of God wonderfully attended the 
message. At the close of the meeting, a wealthy 
gentleman, the one who had denied women the 
privilege of speaking, came and wanted to shake 
hands with me. "May the Lord bless you," said I, 
extending my hand. "I believe the Lord blesses 
you," he answered. I replied that he did. I was 
told later that on the next day he told certain per- 
sons on the street that doubtless that little girl was 
relieved since she had got her mouth off. 

At the time of which I now speak, I had never 
heard a woman preach. My own preaching had 
been done by God's power and under his anointing. 
At about the time the Sturgeon meeting closed, I 
heard of a woman preacher some forty miles 
away, and felt quite anxious to meet her. In com- 
pany with my brother, I went to visit her and found 
a dear saint of God who had been used much in the 
salvation of souls. She had taken a severe cold, 
which had later settled on her lungs; and at the time 
of our visit, her affliction had developed into con- 
sumption, and she was growing rapidly worse. It 
seemed that her faith could not grasp God's promi- 
ses for healing. 

We wanted to help the sister all we could, but 
I had been working very hard, washing and ironing, 
and was feeling quite exhausted; so much so, in-r 
deed, that I did not feel like sitting up while my 
brother was talking to her. As I was lying on the 
couch trying to rest, my brother said, "Mary, is 



90 TRIALS AND TRIUMPHS OF FAITH 

there anything you want from the Lord?" "Noth- 
ing," said I, "unless it be rest." "Well," said he, 
"if you can take the Lord for it, he can rest you in 
an instant." The words were scarcely uttered be- 
fore my faith grasped the Lord; I was rested from 
head to foot, jumped off the bed, and fairly bounced 
up and down with joy, feeling as though I had never 
been tired. The sister for whom we had been pray- 
ing, remarked, "That gets away with my faith." 
"Do you doubt my having been tired?" I asked. 
"No." "Do you doubt the Lord's resting me?" 
"No; but I never saw it on this fashion." 

That afternoon we took the train for Jefferson 
City, Missouri. After we arrived at our destina- 
tion, my brother hunted a place for me to board 
while he went about sixty miles into the country to 
get a team and wagon to take us to our new field 
of labor, there being no railroads in that direction. 

After a day or two, the lady with whom I 
boarded learned that I was a gospel worker. "If 
I can get a congregation together," said she, "will 
you talk to them?" I told her that I would. The 
people come together, and I asked some one to lead 
in prayer, but no one made any response. Finally 
they said that there was a man across the street who 
could pray, and asked if they should call him. The 
man came in; he and I led in prayer, and the Lord 
gave me a message. After the service was over, 
different ones came and congratulated me, saying, 
"It was a grand message; you highly entertained 



ENTERING THE GOSPEL FIELD 91 

us," just as if I were an actress and they came for 
no other purpose than to be entertained. A number 
of those present were professors of religion; but I 
doubted whether there were any possessors. 

For a time the woman with whom I was staying 
seemed quite suspicious of me, but God helped me 
to live so that before the week was out she had per- 
fect confidence in me, and sometimes left her house 
in my care all day. I helped her what I could 
about her housework; and at her request, held as 
many as three cottage meetings during the week. 
God gave me favor with the woman; for when I 
went away she charged me only half the usual price 
for my board and lodging, and even gave me some 
presents. She did not know that I paid her all the 
money I had; but the Lord knew all about it, and 
saw to it that she did not charge me too much. 

My brother had now come with a team and 
wagon. Accompanied by the owner of the outfit, 
we started on our difficult journey to our new field 
of labor. The roads were very rough and rocky, 
and we met with some hardships. We tried to camp 
out one night, but the mosquitos were so bad we 
had to resume our journey as soon as we could see 
to travel in the morning. Before we reached our 
destination, our provisions well-nigh gave out. At 
the end of our journey we had nothing left but a 
little stale bread and some bacon. Having no 
chance to cook anything, we made our last meal on 
dry bread and raw bacon. 



92 TRIALS AND TRIUMPHS OF FAITH 

Chapter XI 
Labors in a New Field 

For the next three years my brother and I worked 
in Missouri, in territory lying in Maries, Phelps, 
Pulaski and Miller counties. The country was very 
rough and hilly. Many of the people were very 
wicked — most of them being of the type that live in 
a rough country remote from railroads. 

A Baptist minister whom we met soon after we 
began work in this part of the State, is a fair illu- 
stration of the religious standard of the people. This 
man, who, for the want of a better name, we shall 
call Father B — , a name by which he was known 
far and near, was called on all occasions where a 
minister was needed throughout a territory twenty 
or thirty miles in extent. He served as evangelist 
and pastor, and officiated at weddings and funerals. 
The people among whom he labored supported him 
quite liberally ; but he used the money they gave him 
in buying whiskey, and spent a good share of his 
time in a drunken, or semi-drunken condition. 

He used frequently to attend our meetings, be- 
cause as he expressed it, he liked "to hear the woman 
preacher." Very frequently he staggered into meet- 
ing supported by the man who accompanied him, 
and sometimes had to be supported after he was 
seated. His seat on the front bench of the small 
country schoolhouse in which the meetings were held, 



LABORS IN A NEW FIELD 93 

brought him so near me that the offensive smell of 
his breath sickened me almost beyond endurance, 
and I could scarcely continue my sermon. Yet this 
man, habitual drunkard as he was, and filthy with 
tobacco, was considered throughout that region 
worthy of financial support and of the title and office 
of minister. 

About fifteen years before we went to that coun- 
try, a certain woman, who for many years now has 
been a true sister in the church, had been saved in 
one of Father B — 's meetings, obtaining, as she has 
always believed, a real experience of salvation. But 
when she saw that Father B — drank whiskey and 
chewed tobacco, she became discouraged and took 
to attending parties and dances. When called be- 
fore the church to give an account of her conduct, 
she defended herself by saying that she did not think 
it any worse for her to attend parties and dances, 
than it was for the preacher to drink whiskey and to 
chew tobacco. I do not now remember what action 
the congregation took in regard to her; but at any 
rate, she went into sin, and lost her experience. This 
sister came to our meetings, sought the Lord, and 
was again restored to divine favor. 

Father B — was a very old man when we first 
met him. He died before we left that part of the 
country. His last illness was preceded by a drunken 
spree, during which some rougish boys painted a 
barren fig-tree on his bald head. He died soon after- 
ward. Notwithstanding the efforts of those who 



94 TRIALS AND TRIUMPHS OF FAITH 

prepared the body for burial, his head went to its 
last resting-place still marked by some of the paint 
that portrayed him as a barren fig-tree. 

But not all of the people had such a low concep- 
tion of religion. God had some true children in that 
part of the country. My brother had already held 
meetings in these countries; God had blessed his ef- 
forts; and a number of souls had been saved and 
sanctified. Nevertheless, when we arrived, the out- 
look for holding meetings was not good. It was now 
late in the fall — -too late for outdoor meetings — so 
we began holding services in small schoolhouses. 
The people came out in crowds. God's Spirit worked 
on their hearts, and numbers came to the Lord. 

You must not suppose, however, that any one 
could preach the straight gospel very long in such a 
place without meeting opposition. One night while 
my brother and I were holding our first series of 
meetings, at a schoolhouse on Dry Creek, in Maries 
County, Missouri, a mob of about a dozen drunken 
men came with the intention of breaking up the meet- 
ing. When they came, the service had not yet be- 
gun. The men entered the room in a boisterous 
way, talking loudly, and acting in an offensive in- 
sulting manner toward every one in the room. I do 
not remember just how it came about, but for some 
reason one of the men caught hold of my brother 
and gave him a jerk that sent him whirling for some 
distance across the room. I was afraid that Jeremiah 
was in danger; but when I saw that he was not at all 



LABORS IN A NEW FIELD 95 

frightened, my fears subsided. There was so much 
noise and loud talking, however, that we could not 
begin the meeting, so we offered earnest prayer that 
the Lord would take charge of things and quell the 
disturbance. I tried to preach, but there was still 
too much confusion. 

While I was standing in the pulpit, one of the 
drunk men near the door pointed a revolver at me, 
but God protected me: the weapon did not go off. 
The man who had pointed the revolver at me, soon 
went out, accompanied by his comrades and by a 
number of other men who wanted some of the whis- 
key. Some of the women went to the door to beg 
their husbands and brothers to come in, and stood 
there crying, fearful that their relatives would be 
killed. I went to the door and said to the women, 
"Come in. If there is any trouble you can do noth- 
ing to prevent it." 'We would come in too," said 
one of the rowdies, "but you always' begin on us." 
"No," I answered, "we will not begin on you. We 
shall be glad to have you come in, and we shall ex- 
pect you to behave yourselves," 

Most of the men outside came in, and the meeting 
began. The Lord gave me the message. During 
my discourse, I said, "Fools make a mock at sin, 
but who is it that mocks God?" "No fools, no fun. 
You know that too," cried one of the men. Then 
he began to say the Lord's prayer, but was too drunk 
to finish it. I paid no attention to the interruption, 
and continued my sermon. There was no more dis- 



96 TRIALS AND TRIUMPHS OF FAITH 

turbance, and not a revolver was fired until the mob 
was some distance from the house. One of the men 
gave himself up the next day and three others were 
arrested. They were a shamefaced set of fellows 
after it was all over. 

Early in December we we.e holding meeting on 
Dry Creek not far from where we held our first 
series of meetings in Meries county. Some grown- 
up boys and girls, who had been drinking freely, 
came to the services and created such a disturbance 
that Jeremiah thought it best in the interest of good 
order to have them arrested. On the day of the 
trial the two lawyers employed to defend these young 
men and women, ridiculed and belittled my brother, 
calling him "the immaculate Jeremiah," and insinuat- 
ing that he thought himself almost equal to Christ. 
At first I felt greatly tried, but when I looked round 
and saw that Jeremiah's face was glowing and that 
he seemed almost happy enough to shout, my bur- 
den all left me. I made up my mind that since my 
brother was so triumphant I, too, would throw off the 
burden and claim victory. The young people who 
had disturbed the meeting had to pay a small fine. 
So far as I know, they behaved better in the future. 

Just a few days after the occurrence just related, 
we began a meeting in the Bell schoolhouse, about 
five miles further down Dry Creek. My brother 
and I were staying with different families in the dis- 
trict. An M. E. South preacher who lived in the 
neighborhood, and who had heard of our trouble 



LABORS IN A NEW FIELD 97 

with the young folks in the other district, sent word 
to my brother that a mob was coming that night to 
break up our meeting, and that we should stay away 
and let him hold that service. He believed that the 
young people opposed us because we taught holiness, 
divine healing, etc.; and thought that his age, and 
the confidence of the people of the neighborhood in 
him would enable him to control the mob and to hold 
the meeting without difficulty. He tried to send 
word to me too ; but, as I was staying with a family 
who lived some distance away, I did not receive his 
message. Jeremiah remained at his boarding place. 

I went to the schoolhouse that evening expecting 
nothing unusual; but to my surprise I found in the 
house and yard a boisterous crowd of twenty-five or 
thirty men, who had been drinking freely of the 
liberal supply of whiskey they had brought with 
them. They were banded together for the express 
purpose of having a good time and breaking up the 
meeting. I can give you no adequate idea of the 
scene that greeted me as I approached. Men were 
running in and out of the schoolhouse, drinking, yell- 
ing, swearing, and talking at the top of their voices. 
The confusion was terrible. 

Soon after my arrival the old preacher attempted 
to begin the service. He gave out a song, which a 
few of those present tried to sing ; but the crowd was 
so noisy that the preacher alternately plead with 
them and reproved them, but without avail. The 
noise increased: the confusion became so great that, 



98 . TRIALS AND TRIUMPHS OF FAITH 

in despair, the old preacher gave up the attempt to 
hold a meeting and began to take down the names of 
those members of the mob whom he knew. The men 
had with them a number of bottles and jugs of whis- 
key. Drinking, swearing, and yelling continued 
without intermission, and from time to time we could 
hear the firing of revolvers. As soon as it seemed 
safe to do so, I went home with one of my friends, 
who lived near by. 

As soon as possible, the old minister had a number 
of the members of the mob arrested and brought to 
trial for disturbing the peace. The preacher's actions 
during the trial showed that his object was, not so 
much to preserve the peace, as to take vengeance. 
Not content with a fine, he insisted on a jail sentence. 

After the prosecution had offered its evidence 
against the mob, the lawyers on the defense made 
fun of the preacher saying: "What! you! A minister 
of the gospel! You want to send them to jail! You 
should be praying for them and trying to get them 
saved." His reply was, "Yes, I will do all I can 
to send them to prison and then I will go and grin 
at them (in derision) through the bars." I do not 
now recall whether or not the culprits received any 
punishment; but at any rate, the preacher's desire 
for vengeance was not satisfied. It was a common 
report about the country that he was so disappointed 
and mortified over what had happened that he did 
not sleep any that night. The difference of spirit 
manifested by my brother and that manifested by 



LABORS IN A NEW FIELD 99 

the old preacher shows the difference between the 
operation of the love of God and of human venge- 
ance. 

Soon after we began our labors, I became afflicted 
with the itch, which was then epidemic in that part 
of the country. A neighboring high school had been 
closed because of this disagreeable affliction. Pre- 
vious to taking the disease myself, I had met some 
of the saints who had it, and who had not been 
healed as soon as I thought they should be. I shall 
have to relate that through ignorance — to my shame, 
be it said — I was not as compassionate to those un- 
fortunate ones as I should have been. I had made 
assertions similar to this: "If you can't trust the 
Lord for healing, I would advise you to use reme- 
dies. Mother says that any one who would keep 
such an affliction any length of time is not decent." 
Many of the people were wounded because of my 
heartless way of talking, though I did it ignorantly. 

The Lord saw that I needed a good lesson, and 
therefore let the malady come upon me in a severe 
form. While preaching in small overheated school- 
houses with but very poor ventilation, my body be- 
came overheated, thus aggravating the disease, and 
soon I was not able to be in the public services at all. 
My arms swelled so that I could not straighten them ; 
and for some months, I had but little use of my 
hands. This affliction baffled my faith more than 
any that I had had up to that time, but I had no 
temptation to resort to remedies. The case of the 



100 TRIALS AND TRIUMPHS OF FAITH 

lady preacher whom we visited in northern Missouri 
stood before me as a warning. I decided to have 
my battle now, and not to give way and lose my 
healing faith. So I held on steadily by the help of 
my brother and fought the battle through until God 
gave me victory. 

It was some time before I got rid of all the symp- 
tons. The Lord showed me that I must be willing 
to go into the work again with them still showing. 
To do so, required humility, and I had to seek the 
Lord for help. I met rebuffs of which only the Lord 
and I knew; but God was ordering this experience, 
and the trial lasted no longer than w r as for my good. 
To complete the lesson, God laid upon me the duty 
of confessing publicly the attitude I had held towards 
those who had the itch before me, and the way I 
had talked to them. I made my confession, humbly 
asking the forgiveness of all who had been wounded 
by my words. God's way is humility before honor. 
The going down is painful; but God's lifting up 
afterwards is sweet. Praise his dear name ! Christ 
was a meek and lowly Savior. To follow his ex- 
ample we must go the lowly way. 

While yet in sectarianism I got the impression that 
the devil had to be stirred before a good revival 
could be held. Acting on this principle, I prayed 
that the Lord would stir the devil in the series of 
meetings my brother and I were then beginning at 
the Tennyson schoolhouse. 

My prayer was answered. One evening near the 



LABORS IN A NEW FIELD 101 

beginning of this revival nine respectable young men 
of Vichy, Mo., hired horses and saddles at the livery 
barn and came out to the schoolhouse to attend the 
meeting. Two desperate characters, reputed to have 
escaped from the penitentiary, were present, but re- 
mained outside the house. The services proceeded 
unmolested; but, after the service, when the nine 
young men from Vichy went to get their horses, they 
found that some one had cut the saddles and bridles 
in pieces and turned their horses loose. Others found 
their harness cut and the nuts of their wagons gone. 
The two desperadoes now began walking back and 
forth through the yard, displaying their weapons and 
threatening to shoot any one that accused them of 
committing any depredation. As the burrs had been 
removed from the wagon in which I came, I had to 
ride home on a mule behind another person. Jere- 
miah said, "Mary, I hope you have learned the 
lesson to not pray the Lord to stir the devil until you 
know you are able to cast him out. It is not always 
necessary that the devil be stirred before a revival. 
Souls can be saved and even devils cast out without 
the devil's being stirred and the power of the enemy 
being put on exhibition." I never again prayed for 
the devil to be stirred. 

About the beginning of the new year, the afflic- 
tion which I have already mentioned, rendered me 
unfit for public service, and for about three months 
my brother and I stayed at the home of Brother 
Baugh on Dry Creek, where we read and studied 



102 TRIALS AND TRIUMPHS OF FAITH 

and prayed and fought the affliction that had been 
imposed upon us. My brother got his prayers through 
and obtained healing much sooner than I. He used 
afterward to say, "I shall thank God through all 
eternity for having had the itch; because when I 
prayed through for healing, I struck the evening 
light," meaning that he was beginning to discern the 
unity of God's people. This remark was often fol- 
lowed by a happy, hearty laugh. 

Early in the spring I had so far recovered from 
my affliction that my brother and I began again to 
hold meetings in the schoolhouses in the counties 
where we had been working, covering in all a terri- 
tory about fifteen or twenty miles in extent. These 
meetings usually lasted two, three, and four weeks 
at each place, and were very profitable in the salva- 
tion of souls. There were some things in connection 
with our work, however, that puzzled us greatly. 
For instance, after we had held a good meeting in 
which a number of souls had been saved, and had 
gone on to other appointments, preachers of different 
denominations would follow us up, preaching against 
two works of grace and divine healing, and casting 
reflections on us as ministers, with the result that 
upon returning after an absence of several weeks, we 
would find the people discouraged, and the congre- 
gation in a bad spiritual condition. 

These things made our hearts ache. We saw 
that in our absence the people needed some one to 
give them advice, encouragement, and spiritual help. 



LABORS IN A NEW FIELD 1 03 

Finally my brother said to me, "Mary, I am going 
to write to the Free Methodists and ask them if they 
will send us a preacher that will preach holiness." 
It was not long until we received the following letter 
from the Free Methodist Conference: "If you get 
a congregation large enough to guarantee a minister 
a salary of five or six hundred dollars a year, we 
will send you a man that believes in holiness." As 
they did not say that the minister they would send 
would have the experience of sanctification, their 
letter afforded but little encouragement. 

While awaiting the reply of the Free Methodist 
conference, my brother had visited the Tennyson 
schoolhouse where we had held meetings sometime 
before. He found that no sect minister had yet 
demoralized the believers, and the members were 
more spiritual than those of any congregation we 
had yet visited. This occurrence threw some light 
on our difficulty. My brother, as was his usual 
custom when he had anything of great importance 
weighing on his mind, resorted to prayer. As it was 
March and the weather quite cool, he put on his 
overcoat and went out to spend the day alone until 
he got the leadings of the Lord. 

God began to show him the sin of division. Jere- 
miah did not see matters very clearly yet, for he 
asked the Lord how we could get along without any 
human organization. The Lord asked him what 
good they had done, and brought to his mind the 
fact that it was only the spiritual ones, those who 



104 TRIALS AND TRIUMPHS OF FAITH 

had not partaken of the spirit of division, that God 
could use to any advantage. My brother then in- 
quired of the Lord how this sin of division had been 
brought about, and the Lord showed him that he 
could find the answer to his question in history. 

When my brother had an opportunity to read his- 
tory, he found that every sect builder told his own 
story. He saw that not one of the human organiza- 
tions measured to the pattern of the New Testament 
church, and that since the sects have human founders, 
they could not be the church of God as that institu- 
tion is of divine origin. 

My brother then went back to the Tennyson 
schoolhouse, and preached his first sermon on the 
subject of the unity of God's people. The people 
joyfully accepted the truth and walked in the light. 
Jeremiah thought that when I heard what God had 
revealed to him I would be rejoiced; but, to his sur- 
prise, I could not yet discern the body of Christ. I 
was still under the influence of the wine of Babylon. 

Our meetings had been attended with excellent 
results. Many souls had sought the Lord. In one 
meeting, which lasted three or four weeks, the whole 
country was stirred. Many young, men and even 
whole families got under deep conviction. After a 
day spent in fasting and prayer, we came together in 
the evening, and conviction settled so heavily upon 
the people and God worked so mightily that we 
labored at the altar until two o'clock in the morning. 
Almost every seat was an altar. Rain was falling, 



LABORS IN A NEW FIELD 1 05 

and the brush arbor in which the meeting was held 
did not protect the congregation ; but the interest was 
so great that the seekers paid no attention to the 
water that constantly dripped through the boughs 
overhead. About twenty souls, I think, sought the 
Lord that night. During the whole series of meet- 
ings, a large number were saved. 

About this time Sister Julia Meyers, now of Irna, 
N. Mex., joined our company, and for some months, 
traveled with us in the work. She had been healed 
before coming to us; but she got light on the one 
church in our meetings. The Lord had been teach- 
ing me to more fully trust him for temporal needs as 
well as for spiritual benefits. When Sister Meyers 
joined our company, I began to teach her the things 
that God had been showing me. I saw that she 
needed help. First she began borrowing money 
from me now and then to get what she needed. I 
felt that I should give her the money. Later, when 
I needed a pair of shoes, she began to feel that she 
should get them for me. She had enough money to 
buy the shoes, but found it a little difficult to obey 
the impression. 

In the meantime I was earnestly praying for the 
shoes. God made me to understand that my prayer 
had gone through, and that I could have had the 
shoes sooner, had I prayed more earnestly. I was 
upstairs. It came to me, "How do you know but 
that the shoes are downstairs waiting for you?" In 
less than five minutes I was called downstairs; and, 



106 TRIALS AND TRIUMPHS OF FAITH 

sure enough, there were the shoes. At first I did not 
know where they came from; but Sister Meyers 
was so blessed in her obedience and sacrifice that she 
could not keep her secret, and we praised the Lord 
together. 

As I was preaching the straight gospel of salva- 
tion from sin, sanctification, and divine healing, it 
was to be expected that I should meet with opposi- 
tion. I met with some very peculiar and unexpected 
persecutions. Falsehoods were told about me that 
should have shamed the devil himself. One rumor 
was that I was one of the famous outlaws, known as 
the "James Boys," disguised as a woman. One of 
the truth fighters published a long account of my 
meetings in the county newspaper. He branded me 
as an impostor, saying that I taught false doctrines. 
He affirmed that sanctification and divine healing 
were not for the people of the present day, that no 
one but Enoch and Elijah had been sanctified, both 
of whom went to heaven without dying. He ended 
his tirade against me by saying that I ought to be 
driven out of the country, and that he would join a 
mob raised for that purpose. 

A Methodist lady, who no doubt had some under- 
standing of Bible doctrine, replied to the gentleman 
with an article, in which she said that the Wesleys 
taught sanctification, and George Mueller, divine 
healing. "If," said she, "the gentleman would read 
more, he would be better informed. There is some 
hope yet for 'Tom Paine,' ' referring to the ficti- 



LABORS IN A NEW FIELD 1 07 

tious name signed to his article. I did not know of 
this wordy battle until it was ended. 

At times my brother would hold a meeting at 
one place and at the same time I would hold one a 
few miles distant. It was at one such time that I 
held a meeting in the county courthouse. I was as- 
sisted by a brother of the M. E. South denomination 
— a young college student, with but little experience 
in gospel work, thought that he could not preach un- 
less he had his sermons written out. We preached 
on alternate evenings. One evening he came to me 
and said, "I wish you would occupy the pulpit to- 
night. I have been away and have had no chance 
for preparation," I told him that I had not had 
time for preparation either. "Sister Cole," he re- 
plied, "you can preach better without preparation 
than I can with preparation, besides, I haven't had 
my supper yet." "Perhaps you could preach better 
without supper," said I. Thus I held him to his 
duty and did not sympathize with him very much 
either. That night he had to lean so hard on God 
that many people said it was the best message they 
had ever heard him deliver. 

Perhaps no young preacher going out in gospel 
work ever felt his inability more than I. As God had 
promised to be my sufficiency, I leaned hard upon 
him and did not feel discouraged. My education 
was so limited, that sometimes during a sermon, while 
trying to explain the Scriptures, I would lack words 
to express myself, and would look to the Lord, tak- 



108 TRIALS AND TRIUMPHS OF FAITH 

ing him as my wisdom. On such occasions he would 
supply me with words, and by his Spirit show me 
how to use them. Later, upon looking in the dic- 
tionary, I would find that they had been used cor- 
rectly. This experience has been repeated many 
times in my ministry. Thus the Lord proved true 
his promise to be my spokesman. When I leaned 
on him, I was never confounded; no, not once. Truly 
our God is a covenant-keeping God, whom we can 
trust under all circumstances and at all times. 

When the Lord healed me, he bestowed upon me 
the gift of exhortation and with it such a great meas- 
ure of the Spirit's power that when I read the Scrip- 
tures, there was a heavenly illumination upon it, and 
I could see a sermon in almost every verse. At 
times the strength of this heavenly light so dazzled 
me that my mind and body were well-nigh over- 
whelmed. I studied and preached the Word under 
a light whose brightness could come only from the 
Spirit of the Lord, and I by spiritual sight could see 
through the Scriptures with a vision as unclouded 
as the vision before my natural eyes when looking 
through a clear glass. Oh, it was wonderful! I 
have always thought that God blessed me with this 
divine unfolding of the Scriptures because I did not 
at all depend upon my own human understanding, 
but leaned wholly upon him at the very time that I 
was studying or expounding the Word. As I be- 
came accustomed to this heavenly light, I was not 
so much dazzled by its brilliancy, but the gift of 



LABORS IN A NEW FIELD 1 09 

exhortation with its accompaniment of divine power, 
has been mine, except for one brief time, throughout 
my ministry. 

As I went from place to place preaching, I began 
to realize that I needed another gift of the Spirit — 
the gift of teaching. When the Lord first impressed 
me that he wanted me to teach, I begged off, say- 
ing that I stammered so that it was very hard for me 
to read. The Lord pitied me and took another plan 
to get me to do what he desired. Up to this time I 
had great freedom and much help in exhorting, but 
now God seemed to have taken this gift from me, 
and I became as one who had never had it. The 
Lord showed me that I would have to trust him for 
ability to teach and to explain the Word, and for 
help to overcome my stammering, or I would have 
no gift at all. So I got down and cried to him like 
a child and plead with him for help. 

When the Lord saw that I was determined to 
obey him, he not only gave me the gift of teaching; 
but, to my surprise, he restored to me the gift of ex- 
hortation and let me exercise it as in days gone by. 
Surely the Lord humored me. I now had two gifts 
instead of one. But I would not advise others to do 
as I did, for though the Lord has no respect of per- 
son, you may have more light than I had at that time, 
and it may be that the Lord would not excuse you 
because of ignorance, as he excused me. 

Quite early in my evangelistic work I held a meet- 
ing in a neighborhood where lived a man who had 



1 1 TRIALS AND TRIUMPHS OF FAITH 

been an M. E. exhorter. He had once been saved, 
so the neighbors said, but having accepted a false 
doctrine that was being taught in that part of the 
country, and having partaken of its spirit, he was in 
a bad condition when I went there. He had re- 
jected Christ entirely, saying that Jesus was nothing 
but an impostor. 

Sometime before I went to the neighborhood, one 
of his children had gotten saved, and during the 
meeting that I held, another one had also come to 
Christ. Knowing their father's condition, the chil- 
dren feared his persecution and insisted that I should 
come and visit him. They thought that if I went 
to the house with them he would be more considerate. 
For their sakes, I went. I had heard that his prac- 
tise was to invite ministers to his house, and then 
to belittle Christ in their presence, to give them no 
opportunity to return thanks, and to make them feel 
as far as possible his opposition to Christ. 

After some conversation, he took down the Bible 
— the Old Testament I mean, he had no New Testa- 
ment in the house — and told me that he was going 
to prove to me that Christ had never come. I told 
him that he could not do that, because by experience 
I knew that Christ had come. "If," said I, "you 
are going to try to prove to me that Christ has not 
come, you have gotten hold of the wrong person. 
I would stake my life that Christ has come. I have 
met the conditions prescribed in his Word, and he 



LABORS IN A NEW FIELD 1 1 1 

has given me the witness of my salvation, and has 
also healed me." 

I tried in various ways to see if there was a tender 
spot in his heart that God could touch. Among 
other things, I said, "When I first started out in the 
work of the Lord, I wrote to my mother saying, 'I 
have found many good friends. All who are Jesus' 
friends,' I wrote, 'are my friends.' But," I continued, 
"I suppose I have now found a man who is not a 
friend of Jesus, and yet is my friend." I thought this 
would shame him. 'Yes," he answered, "I am your 
friend, but not his." I returned thanks at the table 
and also asked him the privilege of praying before I 
left. The Spirit of God intimidated him till he did 
not dare to refuse me. Never did the name of Je- 
sus seem half so sweet to me as when I got down 
to pray before this wicked man. It seemed as though 
all the sweetness of heaven was wrapped up in that 
name. I could say but little: I could only breathe 
out the precious name of Jesus; and oh, how he 
magnified himself through His name! Although I 
felt the presence of infernal spirits all around me — 
the very spirit that crucified Christ — yet I felt the 
presence, too, of the blessed Lord, the Christ of the 
Bible. 

Still thinking that I might say something that 
would touch his heart, I said, as I was about to leave, 
"Pray for me," He said, "I will; and you pray for 
me: but not in the name of Jesus;" adding a moment 
later, "but I know that you will do as you please 



1 1 2 TRIALS AND TRIUMPHS OF FAITH 

anyhow." I felt then that unless God directly 
ordered it, I never wanted to go again to a place 
where Christ was so entirely rejected. I thought of 
the scripture which says that they had forgotten that 
they were once purged. If ever I met a man who 
had sinned against the Holy Ghost, this was cer- 
tainly the man. 

In the early years of my ministry, I sometimes 
found that when the Lord was burdening my heart 
to preach on certain subjects my sympathy stood in 
the way; that is, I was afraid I would hurt some- 
body's feelings. One night I dreamed that another 
minister and I were standing near a large casket 
containing two dead bodies. It seemed that God 
wanted us to dissect these two bodies, and I said to 
the minister who was with me, "Brother, we had 
better get to work before the stench fills the room." 

When I awoke I knew that God was trying to 
teach me something. Just a few days afterwards I 
went across the country accompanied by the brother, 
and his wife, of whom I had dreamed. Some of the 
congregation at the place where we were going to 
hold meeting on the next Sunday, were professing 
to be saved, and at the same time were living in adul- 
tery. Some others needed warning in regard to other 
sins. The Lord wanted me to preach to these peo- 
ple showing them where they stood; but, because 
of my sympathy for them, I did not want to handle 
the subject. The Lord reminded me that I had 
promised to preach his Word on any subject. 'Yes, 



LABORS IN A NEW FIELD 1 1 3 

Lord," said I, "but I sympathize so with these peo- 
ple ! I would rather be whipped from head to foot 
than to preach on this subject at this time. "I 
preached; talking first on one subject and then 
another, and not coming to anything definite, entirely 
failing to give them that portion of the Word that 
they so much needed. 

That night I took very sick. It seemed that I 
should die. I did not know what was the matter. 
I asked the Lord why I was suffering so ; and he re- 
minded me that I had said that I would rather be 
whipped from head to foot than to preach on the 
subject he had given me, and that now the whipping 
had come. When God administers correction, he 
always does a thorough work. I begged earnestly 
that he would take his hand off, promising him 
faithfully that I would never grieve him in that way 
any more; but I saw that I lacked sufficient Holy 
Ghost boldness to carry out my decision if I con- 
tinued to sympathize with those for whom the mes- 
sage was intended. So I asked the Lord earnestly 
for help, telling him that if he wanted to use me in 
dissecting, he must give me the ability. The lesson 
has never had to be repeated. 

During my earlier ministry an incident occurred 
which to some might seem amusing; but which to me 
furnished an excellent spiritual illustration. A class- 
leader of the M. E. South denomination came a 
number of miles across the country to take me to a 
certain place to help in a meeting. We had to ford 



1 1 4 TRIALS AND TRIUMPHS OF FAITH 

the Gasconade river. It was winter, and the ice 
was frozen thick. Before we reached the river, 
some men had cut a road through the ice, so that peo- 
ple could cross on horseback. As we rode out into 
the stream the flowing water seemed to affect me 
strangely. It seemed to me that the brother who 
was with me was trying to pull me off of the horse 
and drown me. I said, "Don't, don't, it is all I can 
do to stay on now." When we reached the other 
side, the brother broke into a hearty laugh: "Sister 
Cole, did you think I was trying to drown you? I 
saw that the water made you dizzy, and that you 
were about to fall off the horse. It was all I could 
do to keep you from drowning." 

Many times since then I have thought of this inci- 
dent, as an illustration of a certain spiritual condition. 
When a person gets somewhat cold spiritually, the 
doctrines of the church become indistinct, and, spiri- 
tually speaking, his head begins to swim. At such 
a time he is likely to think that those who are en- 
deavoring to help him out of his difficulties are trying 
to drown him ; that they are in spiritual trouble them- 
selves and that they are trying to pull him into the 
same difficulty. 

At another time I was going to a meeting near 
the place of which I have just told you, and had to 
cross the same river. It was earlier in the fall ; and 
the Gasconade, although badly swollen, had not 
yet frozen. The boy who was with me, feared that 
the river was too high for fording, and asked what 



LABORS IN A NEW FIELD 1 1 5 

we should do. As the appointment had already 
been made for me, I feared that the people would 
be disappointed and told him we would better go 
across if we could. "Shall I go across first and see 
how deep the water is?" he asked. I told him I 
thought that would be the better way. He found 
the water to be deep enough to swim our horses, 
but thought that we might get across, although we 
would risk our lives in the attempt. He said that if 
I wanted to run the risk, he was willing. God pro- 
tected us and we reached the other side in safety. 

The young man said to some of his friends after- 
wards, that he was afraid we would both drown, 
but that he would not let a woman back him out. 
"I knew," said he "that if she drowned, she would 
be saved; but that if I drowned, I should be lost." 
I certainly appreciated his generosity in risking his 
life to help me. 

While holding meetings in that neighborhood, 
this same young man and his brother, although un- 
saved, befriended me in every way possible, because 
they knew that I had come there to do the people 
good. Their sisters, who professed religion, also 
manifested great friendliness for me. At one time 
when some sectarian holiness fighters tried to shut 
me out of the schoolhouse, the two brothers defended 
me like lawyers, won the case, and secured the use 
of the house for as long as I desired to hold meetings. 
Whenever I needed a conveyance, I had only to call 
on these young men. 



1 1 6 TRIALS AND TRIUMPHS OF FAITH 

I met a brother young in the ministry who had 
a very clear definite experience of justification and 
sanctification, and who had had a very definite call. 
He had had, however, but very little experience in 
tests and trials, and was therefore not qualified to 
be the blessing to young converts or to young workers 
that he might have been. As he had been so vic- 
torious in his religious experience, he thought that 
trials and tests were a sign of weakness, and that 
those who had them were spiritual weaklings. When- 
ever a young convert or worker had a test or a tria! 
of faith, and needed special help or encouragement, 
he would think, "Oh, well it isn't worth while to 
bother with him; he doesn't amount to much any- 
way. He will not stand, and if he does, he won't 
ever be very useful in the Lord's cause. He is not 
worthy of any attention." 

God let this brother go through deep waters. He 
had a severe test; and when he came through, his 
compassion was much increased, and his care and 
consideration for the young converts and those in 
trouble was all that could be desired. He did not 
find any one then unworthy his consideration. He 
had learned that every soul worth Christ's dying 
for, is worth all the effort we can make, either for 
its deliverance or its establishment. Well did the 
Psalmist say, "When I was in trouble thou hast en- 
larged my steps." The Psalmist got the enlarge- 
ment right in the trial, just as we often do. Much 
of our development is obtained in the furnace of trial ; 



LABORS IN A NEW FIELD 1 1 7 

in fact, I believe most of it. Let us be thankful, 
therefore, for the dispensation of God's grace, 
whether it be bestowed by trial or in sunshine; 
whether it comes in storm or in calm, knowing that 
God allows all for our highest good. 

Quite early in our evangelistic labors my brother 
saw that I had been leaning too much on him. Fre- 
quently when God wanted me to deliver a message, 
I would hold back and let my brother preach in- 
stead. I was not getting the experience I should, 
nor being as useful in the Lord's work as I might. 
My brother thought that if he should leave me to 
work alone for a time, the Lord would have a chance 
to help me more. He therefore began leaving me 
to hold meetings alone for weeks at a time, while he 
held services in some nearby neighborhood. Natu- 
rally, I felt somewhat fearful about being left to 
carry on the work alone; but the Lord helped me 
and enabled me to hold a number of good success- 
ful meetings. 

At one of these meetings God had been answer- 
ing prayer and conviction was falling heavily upon 
the people. The whole neighborhood seemed stirred, 
and crowds were at the altar. Fathers and mothers 
came seeking salvation. A few, however, among 
them a Campbellite minister, came with the intention 
of causing trouble. He wanted a chance, he said to 
tell the people how to find Jesus. I asked him what 
he would tell them. "Obey the commendments." 
"What commandments?" "Join the church and be 



1 1 8 TRIALS AND TRIUMPHS OF FAITH 

baptized." "If you have a message from God," 
said I, "we will hear it; but, if you have not, we will 
not hear it. Souls are at the altar and their eternal 
interests are at stake. This is too serious a time to 
deliver a message not from God." He arose and 
went out, accompanied by the man who had come 
with him. When the sinners laughed at him, he 
said, "If you had had such hot testimonies thrown 
into your faces, you would have left too." When 
this same minister came to another meeting to dis- 
turb, God got hold of him and brought him to the 
altar. I don't think he got an experience, but he 
made no more attempts to disturb the meeting. 

Every time the enemy undertook to hinder the 
work, God marvelously helped us. At one time a 
certain minister came to try to look me out of coun- 
tenance while I was preaching. His plan was to 
confuse me so that I could not preach. The enemy 
knew that if I became the least bit confused, I would 
stammer so that I could hardly talk. God was 
present to help me. He so confounded the man that 
before the service was over, his head went down and 
I had no more trouble with him. 

At different times I held meetings of three or 
four week's duration, preaching twice every day and 
three times on Sunday. I had no help in the preach- 
ing, and but very little at the altar service. There 
were many people at the altar seeking God and the 
work was very heavy. The Lord wonderfully sus- 
tained me. The fact that I went through such fatigu- 



LABORS IN A NEW FIELD 1 1 9 

ing experiences as these, laboring sometimes far into 
the night, shows how wonderfully God had healed 
me, and how he was sustaining me in my work. 

Experience alone will show how much the dear 
Lord can help us physically as well as spiritually if 
we but trust him. Unbelief and doubts hinder God 
from being to us our sufficiency at all times and under 
all circumstances. Faith will take hold of God 
for things beyond the comprehension of our natural 
minds. The Word says, "All things are possible 
with God" ; "All things are possible to him that be- 
lieve th." As we trust in the Lord, he will honor our 
faith and give us the desire of our hearts. 



120 TRIALS AND TRIUMPHS OF FAITH 

Chapter XII 
Out of Sectarian Confusion 

I was still a Methodist. The Methodist did not 
license women to preach; but when the preachers 
found out that God was using me in the salvation of 
souls and that I was not especially interested in build- 
ing up any certain denomination, I had an abun- 
dance of calls. 

God had already begun talking to my brother 
Jeremiah about the sin of division, and he was begin- 
ning to see the evils of sectarianism. The winter 
after I was healed, he had attended the Jacksonville, 
111., holiness convention, and had met there Bro. 
D. S. Warner, who at that time was editor of a 
holiness paper, The Herald of Gospel Freedom, then 
published at Rome City, Ind. Brother Warner was 
already beginning to discern the unity of God's peo- 
ple, but he had not yet received enough light on the 
subject to sever his connection with the Winebrenner- 
ian denomination, of which he was a member. It 
was about the time of the Jacksonville meeting that 
The Herald of Gospel Freedom was consolidated 
with the Pilgrim, a small holiness paper published at 
Indianapolis, Ind. 

While at the Jacksonville meeting, Jeremiah sub- 
scribed for The Pilgrim and had it sent to me at 
Windsor, Mo., as I had not yet begun gospel work. 



OUT OF SECTARIAN CONFUSION 121 

I received only a few numbers of The Pilgrim, as 
that publication was consolidated with The Herald 
of Gospel Freedom Jan. 1, 1881, under the name 
The Gospel Trumpet. At a later date, when Brother 
Warner had full light on the church, The Gospel 
Trumpet was no longer considered a consolidation 
of the two papers, but an entirely new publication. 
The first issue of The Trumpet (Jan. 1, 1881 ) rep- 
resented a new paper and was later designated as 
Vol. 1 , No. 1 . When the publication of The Pilgrim 
ceased, Brother Warner began to send me The 
Gospel Trumpet to finish out the unexpired time of 
my subscription to The Pilgrim. 

During my brother's absence in evangelistic work 
I received several copies of The Trumpet. As soon 
as I read in The Trumpet about the sin of division 
and saw that the new paper opposed the licensing of 
preachers, my sectarian spirit was stirred. I thought 
that holiness would make the churches, as I called 
them, better. I was afraid that if people got hold 
of such literature as The Trumpet it would disgust 
them with holiness forever. I burned The Trumpets 
I had already received, and then sat down and 
wrote Brother Warner never to send me another 
copy. As I was traditionized, and had opposed the 
truth in ignorance, the Lord did not hold my opposi- 
tion as a wilful sin. 

After my brother had got light on the one body, 
he was so enthused with the truth that he wanted 



122 TRIALS AND TRIUMPHS OF FAITH 

to explain it to every one he met. While out walk- 
ing one day the next summer after he discerned the 
one body, he fell into conversation with a man about 
the Scriptures. After talking a little while the man 
said, "I have a paper that reads just as you talk." 
Going to the house, he brought out The Gospel 
Trumpet and gave it to my brother, who went down 
the road reading as he went. He never stopped 
reading until he had finished the paper. At the 
earliest opportunity my brother wrote a letter to 
Brother Warner, asking him if he had enough light 
on the one body to set it clearly before the people. 
He also asked him if many were accepting this 
divine truth. To the first question Brother Warner 
replied, "Yes," and to the second, "Yes, hundreds 
are discerning the one body." As soon as my 
brother learned that Brother Warner and many 
others had the same truth that God had made so 
clear and beautiful to him, he rejoiced greatly. He 
could not rest until he went where Brother Warner 
was; but, as I had neglected to walk in the light, I 
was left alone, and that, too, in more ways than one. 
Some time before I discerned the body of Christ, 
I had some impressive dreams. In one I thought I 
was in a large building belonging to some denomina- 
tion. A conference of that denomination was be- 
ing held just outside the door, and the ministers 
wanted me to come and take part. I looked toward 
the door through which I must pass, and I saw two 



OUT OF SECTARIAN CONFUSION 1 23 

large worms with their heads together, lying directly 
across the threshold. In order to enter the room, I 
would have to step over the worms and would be in 
great danger of receiving a deadly bite. I said to 
myself, "I will not run the risk for any man's no- 
tions or ways"; and, turning on my heel, I went out 
of another door. 

I soon saw my dream fulfilled. The denomina- 
tion that I had been holding a meeting for insisted 
that I should join their conference, saying that they 
would give me a license so that I could hold meet- 
ings in their territory. I knew that, according to 
their discipline, they could not license a woman to 
preach; and I said to the minister, "You don't dare 
to give me a license." "Well," said he, "I will 
tell you what you can do, Sister Cole; we can go to 
a place not far from here where you have had a 
good meeting, lay this matter before the people, and 
have them vote to give you a permit, so that you can 
hold meetings in any part of our district." I did 
not feel at all led to take such steps; and, as I had 
done in my dream, I turned in the other direction. 
I suppose God was using this method to get me ready 
for the truth. 

The summer before I got out of sectarianism, an 
M. E. South minister invited me to come to their 
new chapel, to attend the quarterly conference, and 
to help hold a series of meetings. As the M. E. 
South denomination did not license women preachers, 



124 TRIALS AND TRIUMPHS OF FAITH 

women were not allowed at the quarterly conference. 
They had arranged, however, that several other 
women and I should sit in a room adjoining the con- 
ference, so that we could hear the proceedings. This 
was on Saturday. On Sunday morning they held 
their quarterly love-feast, partook of the Lord's 
Supper, and listened to a sermon by the presiding 
elder. 

In the afternoon and the evening, I preached. 
While the afternoon service was in progress, the 
ministers were holding a private meeting to decide 
whether or not I should proceed with the meeting 
I had come to hold. In this part of the country was 
a wealthy man, a sinner, who contributed very 
liberally to the support of the work. This man 
objected to women's preaching and opposed the con- 
tinuance of the meeting. 

It was decided that the meeting should not con- 
tinue, but the pastor of the congregation did not tell 
me. The pastor and his wife were both present at 
the service on Monday night, and both seemed well 
pleased. On Tuesday evening the interest began 
to increase, and one or two raised their hands for 
prayer. Just at the close of the service a note was 
handed me requesting me to close the meeting, as 
they had decided not to continue at the present time, 
but to wait until later in the season. 

I could not keep from crying. I had called the 
Methodist Church my mother; and now to think 



OUT OF SECTARIAN CONFUSION 125 

that my mother was treating me in this way, made 
me feel very bad. I went home with a young couple 
who had been saved a short time before in a meeting 
held near this place. They felt very bad over what 
had happened, and we all cried together. The 
young people tried to encourage me as best they 
could. 

Next day they took me to their aunt's, a special 
friend of mine, who had shown me kindness while I 
was in that neighborhood before. As we went along 
the road, I thought to myself, "Any one treated as 
I have been ought to look sneaking"; and I tried to 
think of everything I could to make me look that 
way. When we arrived at our destination, the sister 
was not in the room, so I hunted the smallest chair 
I could find, and sat down. As soon as she came in, 
she saw that I was in trouble and inquired what was 
the matter. I began to tell her, crying at the same 
time; but she began to laugh. Well, she laughed 
and I cried; but after a while I took to laughing 
too. I never again felt bad about my treatment at 
that place. 

I still continued to get calls from the sectarian 
preachers to go and help hold meetings. I responded 
to these, and held two or three meetings in different 
places. Late that fall I held a meeting at Rolla, 
Mo. The preacher could hardly get an audience 
when he preached, so he sent for me, thinking that a 
woman preacher would be quite an attraction and 



126 TRIALS AND TRIUMPHS OF FAITH 

would draw crowds. The crowds came. Although 
there were a number of ministers present, including 
the presiding elder, I occupied the pulpit, I think, 
during half of that meeting. Conviction came upon 
the people, and a number came to the altar; but not 
many of those who came, seemed to get an experi- 
ence. 

On the last night of the meeting quite a number 
of bright, intelligent young people, some of them 
college students came to the altar and some of them 
were getting saved. As the minister went to talk 
with the seekers one by one, God put it into my heart 
to listen to what they were saying. Not once did 
these preachers say, "Seek the Lord until you find 
him;" 'There is reality in salvation;" "Never step 
until you know you are saved." Their instructions 
were: "Join the church;" "Get baptized," etc. God 
opened my eyes right there to the awful work that 
these so-called ministers were doing. I said, "If 
they are going to help deceive souls that way and 
send them to destruction, I will never help them 
again." That was the last meeting in which I ever 
helped to build up Babylon. 

Collections were taken up for the ministers and 
for the general expenses of the meeting, but no one 
ever said to me, "Do you need any means?" One 
of the sisters, however, found out that I had a little 
money, and she asked me to give it to her to use in 
buying a little clothing for me so I would be suitably 



OUT OF SECTARIAN CONFUSION 127 

dressed to preach in their meeting. I felt that even 
this was too good for me, because I had failed to 
walk in the light. 

At the close of the meeting, to my surprise, I 
found myself under a wrong spirit. I went to Bro. 
John P. Bailey and wife, who had accepted the 
truth when Jeremiah preached his first sermon on 
the church at that place. I told Brother and Sister 
Bailey my condition as best I could, and the three 
of us fasted and prayed three days. God delivered 
me from the false spirit, gave me light on the one 
body, the church, and made me glad to walk in the 
light as fast as it was revealed. 

Bro. Jake Cruts came to ask my advice on the 
subject of baptism. "Sister Cole," said he, "what 
do you think about baptism : is it a commandment of 
God? If so, what is the correct mode?" Before I 
could answer him, he continued, "I suppose we shall 
never know the right mode." "I believe," said I, 
"if we are sincere and come to God in earnest prayer, 
he will show us his will, even if the scripture on 
that doctrine has been wrongly translated." The 
brother agreed with me, and I said, "Let us get 
down and pray." While we were on our knees, 
God made me to understand that in the near future, 
he would make known to me his will on the subject 
of baptism. 

I told the brother who was kneeling with me what 
God had shown me; but it seemed that I needed to 



128 TRIALS AND TRIUMPHS OF FAITH 

be humbled still more. At this time I received 
another Trumpet in which there was an article by 
D. S. Warner on the subject of baptism. I said to 
myself, "He is nothing but a Baptist preacher any- 
way," and found myself going into gross darkness. 
For about two hours it seemed that I was bound for 
hell. I cried out, "O Lord ! why is it that after you 
have used me in the salvation of souls, some of whom 
no doubt are in the glory-world, I must now be 
lost?" The Lord made me understand that I was 
not responsible for not having been baptized, as I 
had no knowledge of the teaching of the Scriptures 
on this subject, but that I was responsible for my 
present light. He showed me that, if I would walk 
in the light, I should not be lost. I decided then and 
there to walk in every ray of light that God gave 
me. 

As members of the M. E. Church, my parents 
had had me sprinkled when I was a child, and up to 
this time I had had no light on baptism. When I 
had opportunity and I was buried in baptism, God 
wonderfully witnessed that I was being baptized in 
his order. 

My first text after I got light on the one body of 
Christ, was Jer. 1:6-10 and 17-19. A short time 
before this I had held a meeting with an M. E. 
South preacher, who now seemed to stand before me 
like an obstructing mountain. As I began my ser- 
mon, I seemed to see him in that capacity. Before 



OUT OF SECTARIAN CONFUSION 129 

I was through delivering the message* however, God 
had lifted me above the mountain, so that I was 
never again troubled in that way. 

My name was still on the M. E. class-book; but 
God showed me that I ought to have it removed, 
and how to have it removed. I sent for my church 
letter and trusted the Lord to direct me how to dis- 
pose of it. One Sunday after a sermon had been 
delivered on the church of God, I rose and told the 
congregation about the church letter, told them that 
the Lord had shown me that I could not have two 
valid contracts for my entire service with two differ- 
ent parties at the same time. I said, "I have de- 
cided that the contract between God and my soul 
is the more important one." Then I proceeded to 
tear up my letter, and God sent his mighty power, 
witnessing that my contract with the Lord was rati- 
fied in heaven. So much of heaven came down, and 
the glory world seemed so near, that I seemed at- 
tached to heaven, not by a cord, but by a mighty 
cable. I shall never be able to express how satis- 
fied I was with God's church. Some sectarian 
preachers prophesied that I should soon be back 
preaching for the denominations. One of them was 
heard to say, "If I knew that Mary Cole would 
come and help us in a meeting, I would send for her ; 
but I am afraid she won't." I never got any more 
special calls from Babylon. 

Shortly after I got light on the one body, however, 



130 TRIALS AND TRIUMPHS OF FAITH 

the devil laid a snare for me. I saw the snare be- 
fore I got into it, and God's Word was fulfilled: 
"In vain is the net spread in the sight of any bird." 
It happened in this way: A certain man who was 
starting a new sect tried to interest all he could in 
his project. He did not call his new religious move- 
ment by any special name and professed not to have 
anything to join. He would have the people come 
and shake hands, inferring that in so doing they were 
not joining anything, but were merely showing their 
mutual love and fellowship. In order to be an en- 
couragement to any that might really be trying to 
live for the Lord, I went up and shook hands with 
the preacher and others. After we had shaken hands, 
his design became apparent. He seated me and a 
few others on one side of the platform and called for 
others to come and shake hands with us. The Lion 
of the tribe of Judah began to roar in my soul. I 
got up very quickly, and the plan was defeated. 

A common remark made to me by sectarians was, 
'You ought to join some denomination so that }'ou 
will be inside the pale of the church," thus inferring 
that because I did not belong to a human organiza- 
tion, I was not in good pasture, but outside on the 
commons with poor, ill-fed stock. I understood the 
figure of speech very well, for I was brought up on 
a farm where the garden was enclosed with palings. 
Between these palings were spaces through which 
small animals could get in and destroy the vegeta- 



OUT OF SECTARIAN CONFUSION 1 3 1 

bles — a very good illustration of the sectarian 
churches surrounded by their palings, through which 
unclean spirits can slip in and destroy the flock. In 
the church of God I feel secure; because God has 
appointed salvation for her walls and bulwarks (Isa. 
26 : 1 ) , and through these neither evil spirits, nor 
even the devil himself can penetrate. 

I was educated to believe, and in this way I 
often expressed myself, that the M. E. denomination 
was my spiritual mother. This idea remained with 
me until I got light on the sin of division and was 
spiritually able to discern the bride of Christ. Then 
I saw that "Jerusalem from above is the mother of 
us all." I saw plainly that if I had two mothers, 
one must be a stepmother. While my mother was 
living I never cared to have a stepmother. The 
prophecies of Scripture so unmistakably point to the 
one church, the body of Christ, that they can be but 
poorly explained by those who are trying to make 
them conform to sectarian theology. I am content 
with the church of God, with Christ as the door, and 
nothing inside but the holy throng. 

Besides, in sectarianism I did not have freedom in 
my ministry. I could preach only as the sect min- 
isters suggested. If God gave me more light, and I 
tried to give it to the people, I was likely to receive 
a rebuke. I remember that at one time while I was 
holding a meeting for some denomination, God led 
me to preach on holiness. In the very beginning of 



132 TRIALS AND TRIUMPHS OF FAITH 

the meeting they had advised me not to preach on 
this subject. What was I to do? The Lord re- 
minded that I had promised I would preach any 
part of his Word whenever and wherever he led me 
to do so. He now brought me face to face with 
the question, "What will you do?" I said, "Lord, I 
will obey you if you will stand by me." The Lord 
assured me that he would. I preached on sanctifica- 
tion as a distinct second work of grace, God witness- 
ing to the message by his mighty power. After the 
service, the minister who had placed the restrictions 
upon me, said, "Sister Cole, that is the best sermon 
you preached during the whole meeting." I an- 
swered, "I knew that the things you didn't want 
were the things you needed." 

After the Lord had led me into the precious truth 
of the oneness of his people, I was much better satis- 
fied with what God did with me and through me, 
with the meetings I held, and with the results at- 
tained. Although at times not as many people 
professed salvation now as when I was preaching for 
the denomination, yet those who got saved reached 
a settled experience, being satisfied that they were in 
God's order. They were not looking around for 
something that more nearly represented the truth. 
As a minister I was satisfied, knowing that I was 
delivering the whole counsel of God. No one ever 
can be satisfied who is not walking in every ray of 
light that God turns on his pathway. 



TRIALS AND TRIUMPHS OF FAITH 133 

Chapter XIII 
The Evening Light 

This chapter is an article written by the author 
many years after she had received light on the unity 
of the church. It will acquaint the reader with what 
is meant by the expression "evening light." 
"At evening time it shall be light" 

"And it shall come to pass in that day, that the 
light shall not be clear, nor dark : but it shall be one 
day which shall be known to the Lord, not day, nor 
night: but it shall come to pass, that at evening 
time it shall be light" (Zech. 14:6, 7). The ex- 
pression "evening light" suggests the thought that 
there was at one time morning light. The New 
Testament dispensation is sometimes called the 
gospel day. Like the natural day, this gospel day 
has its morning and evening. 

When the New Testament church was first set 
in order; when this Holy Ghost dispensation was 
ushered in; when the gospel day began there was 
a wonderful outburst of light and power from the 
glory-world. 'The people which sat in darkness 
saw great light ; and to them which sat in the region 
and shadow of death light is sprung up" (Matt. 
4: 16). As a result of this mighty flood of power 
and light, the place where the saints were assembled 
was shaken (Acts 2: 1-7), the dead were raised to 



134 TRIALS AND TRIUMPHS OF FAITH 

life, the blind were made to see, the deaf to hear, 
the dumb to speak the lame to walk, all manner 
of diseases were healed, thousands upon thousands 
were converted to God, and many signs and wonders 
were wrought in the name of the holy child Jesus. 
We also read of Paul's wonderful conversion, of 
Peter's deliverance from prison, and of many who 
were delivered from devils. Oh, what wonderful 
light God shed upon the hearts of men at that time ! 

The shining of this glorious light not only en- 
lightened the minds of those who received it; but it 
also revealed the effects of past traditions and 
brushed them away. The light also revealed the 
New Testament life and experience, far exceeding 
the standard under the law. The word says, "Light 
makes manifest"; so under the gospel rays every 
one's condition was revealed. The light not only 
showed the people their sins, but also showed them 
how to get rid of them, and then how later to get 
sanctified wholly. "For this is the will of God, even 
your sanctification" (1 Thess. 4:3). 

This, of course, is a much higher standard than 
was raised under the law. The law was, eye for 
eye, tooth for tooth, love your neighbor and hate 
your enemy; but when the gospel light revealed 
God's will in this dispensation, all people became so 
responsible because of the knowledge of divine truth 
revealed to them and the unmeasured divine power 
bestowed upon them that it was consistent to raise 



THE EVENING LIGHT 135 

the standard where people would love their enemies 
and do good to those who despitefully treated them. 
Nor did their love stop with that; it so increased 
toward one another that "all that believed were to- 
gether, and had all things common; and sold their 
possessions and goods, and parted them to all men, 
as every man had need" (Acts 2: 44, 45). 

In many particulars far too numerous to mention 
can it be shown that the New Testament standard 
was raised far above the law standard, showing 
God's compassion to fallen man. For example, con- 
sider the woman taken in adultery. The law said, 
"Stone her to death"; but Jesus said, Neither do I 
condemn thee; go and sin no more." Notice also 
his compassion toward the Syrophenician woman, 
who was considered a Gentile dog; toward the peo- 
ple when he performed the miracles of the loaves 
and fishes ; toward the multitude when he fed enemies 
as well as friends. Again, when the disciples wanted 
to call down fire from heaven to destroy some who 
had opposed them, Jesus said, "I am not come to 
destroy men's lives, but to save them." Jesus loved 
the people so well that he healed even the man in 
the tombs who was possessed with a legion of devils, 
and also the ear of the servant of the high priest 
who was then helping to arrest him. It was his 
compassion that sent out the disciples to heal the 
sick, to raise the dead, and to cast out devils. All 
these things were a result of the burning light that 



136 TRIALS AND TRIUMPHS OF FAITH 

shone forth in the morning of this gospel day. 

We see that God's church in the beginning was 
a mighty moving power — a means in God's hands 
to bring deliverance and salvation to souls, and heal- 
ing to afflicted bodies. The work done and the signs 
wrought all so far exceeded what had been done be- 
fore that the people were made to exclaim, 'We 
never saw it on this fashion." Jesus summed it up 
well when he said, "The blind received their sight, 
and the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, and the 
deaf hear, the dead are raised up, and the poor have 
the gospel preached to them. And blessed is he 
whosoever shall not be offended in me" (Matt. 
11 : 5, 6). If from the morning time until now the 
light had continued to shine with unclouded bright- 
ness, who knows how much might have been done 
toward the salvation of the world! But, alas! the 
prophecy must needs be fulfilled: "And it shall come 
to pass in that day, saith the Lord God, that I will 
cause the sun to go down at noon, and I will darken 
the earth in the clear day" (Amos 8:9). In Paul's 
time he said, "For the mystery of iniquity doth al- 
ready work" (2 Thess. 2:7). 

It was not long until the people began to drift 
away from God, to substitute outward form for 
inward experience, and penance for faith. Heresies 
sprang up. Men lost sight of the church of God, 
and began to form creeds, and to build up man-made 
institutions. The first creed was formed in A. D. 



THE EVENING LIGHT 137 

325. Men drifted farther and farther away from 
the way of the Lord, and plunged into gross dark- 
ness, until they could even kill the saints and think 
they were doing God's service. They also fell to 
worshiping images after the manner of the heathen, 
and doing many other like things. This departure 
from light brought about a serious state of affairs; 
so great was the persecution of God's true children 
that they were hunted for their lives, and had to 
hide in dens and caves of the earth. History tells us 
that death was the penalty for having in possession 
a New Testament. With such a penalty hanging 
over the people of God, not many would be profess- 
ing that did not have the experience. It doubtless 
took a martyr's consecration to keep a real Christian 
experience in those days, and it is equally as much 
needed in these perilous times. 

This reign of gross darkness continued hundreds 
of years. "Behold, the days come, saith the Lord 
God, that I will send a famine in the land, not a 
famine of bread, nor thirst for water, but of hearing 
the words of the Lord" (Amos 8: 11). But God 
had designed to bring again his children out of dark- 
ness. He proceeded to do so by giving light to such 
men as Wycliffe, Huss, Luther, and others. History 
tells us that when light came to Luther, he was 
steeped in Catholicism, so much so that he was try- 
ing to gain favor with God by various acts of pen- 
ance. On one occasion while he was climbing the 



138 TRIALS AND TRIUMPHS OF FAITH 

"holy stairs" at Rome on his hands and knees, the 
Lord thundered in his soul that salvation is by faith 
in Christ alone. We have no account of Luther's 
getting light beyond justification, but the reforma- 
tion did not cease with him. Later the Lord gave 
to the Wesleys, Fletcher, Hester Ann Rogers, and 
others, greater light on his Word, showing the privi- 
lege not only of justification but also of sanctification. 
As the departure from the light and whole truth in 
the morning of the gospel day was a gradual process, 
so the return to the light has been gradual. The Lord 
shed some light on the world through Huss, some 
through Luther, and some through the Wesleys and 
others, thus restoring the full light according to his 
own plan. 

While God wonderfully used these men to shed 
light on the world in their day, yet many effects of 
the apostasy were clinging to them. Divine heal- 
ing in their day was almost unknown or known to 
but few, and likewise the gifts of the Spirit. Wesley 
liimself testified that he did not possess any of the 
gifts of the Spirit, and did not think that any one 
else did. No one in Wesley's time, so far as we 
know, discerned the one body and the unity of God's 
children. The one who perhaps came nearest to 
discerning the body of Christ was either Wesley or 
Fletcher. In their correspondence with each other, 
one said in substance the following: "In searching 
the Word on the unity of God's children, I see that 



THE EVENING LIGHT 139 

the Scriptures relating to the gathering of God's 
children into one body must be fulfilled before the 
end ; but I scarcely think we are yet on the threshold 
of that period." He expressed his desire to see that 
time by saying, "God hasten the day." No doubt 
if these men were living today, and walking in the 
light as they were at that time, they would readily 
fall into line with the church in this evening time. 

"At evening time it shall be light." That this 
scripture might be fulfilled, God in his wisdom saw 
fit to shed more light on the one body and divine heal- 
ing, not upon one person alone, but upon a number 
of his people in different parts of the world. This 
light began to break forth about 1880. I wish to 
call your attention here to the way in which God 
shed forth the light on the church of God. In mak- 
ing a new sect, some man becomes the hub and 
center, and round him or his ideas revolves the organi- 
zation. But God did not center this reform in one 
man, but gave the light to different ones in various 
parts of the world about the same time. The work 
of the Holy Spirit upon their hearts in sanctifying 
them, caused them to see and flow together. It 
might be said that the giving of this glorious light 
was in one respect similar to the second coming of 
the Son of man: "As the lightning cometh out of the 
east, and shineth even unto the west; so shall also the 
coming of the Son of man be." The fact that many 
persons in different parts of the world saw this light 



140 TRIALS AND TRIUMPHS OF FAITH 

independently of each other and at about the same 
time is one evidence that this movement is God's 
work and not man's. Truly this is the evening time, 
and it is light 

God's will, order, and plan are more fully re- 
vealed to his children now than at any other time 
since the days of the apostles. The Lord enables us 
more clearly to discern the one body and its opera- 
tions, and to know our place in it. The gifts of the 
Spirit are now recognized as belonging rightfully to 
God's children, and are sought, obtained and used 
to the glory of God. It is now understood that the 
same purity of heart and life enjoined by the church 
in the morning time is not only our privilege to en- 
joy, but also the standard to which we must measure, 
and the doctrine that we as ministers must both live 
and preach. The old Babylon doctrine, "Sin you 
must," is exposed as a doctrine of devils. The doc- 
trine and practise of trusting the Lord for healing 
and at the same time using drugs and remedies to 
help the Lord out is cast aside as false, and the true 
doctrine of entire trust in God for healing is taught 
and practised instead. Truly the prophecy is ful- 
filled which says, "The light of the moon shall be 
as the light of the sun, and the light of the sun shall 
be sevenfold" (Isa. 30: 26). 

At the same time that God is shedding more light 
on his Word, his plan, and his holy bride, he is also 
giving us more light on the workings of Satan and his 



THE EVENING LIGHT 141 

deceptive power. As the light shines brighter, of 
course the battle waxes hotter between God and 
the devil, between light and darkness. As the light 
reveals the hiding-places of the devil and exposes 
his works, he is becoming more and more enraged 
and is making a desperate fight, for his time is short. 
This means much to the true saints in these perilous 
times. The enemy is not only doing all he can to 
hold those who are already under his power, but is 
doing all he can to spot the pure bride. Since he 
already sways his scepter over the sectarian world, 
he needs waste no time on them, but can direct all 
his energies against the holy remnant. 

The harder Satan works, however, the brighter 
shines the church of God, the one body, the bride of 
Christ, the more glorious her splendor and beauty. 
Let us beware. Let us watch and pray, that we may 
be kept pure and clean. The Lord is the same today 
as ever, and his promises are as far-reaching. While 
it takes more grace to live a holy life at this time, 
yet the dear Lord has provided a sufficiency. As a 
result we have more to enjoy, and more facilities for 
doing good. The heavier the responsibilities, the 
greater the grace. 

It is a thing indeed to be thankful for, that instead 
of the reign of conferences and synods, priests and 
popes, we have the blessed privilege of living under 
the loving rule of the holy Trinity, with Christ him- 
self as the head of the church, and all we are breth- 



142 TRIALS AND TRIUMPHS OF FAITH 

ren. "And I heard as it were the voice of a great 
multitude, and as the voice of many waters, and as 
the voice of mighty thunderings, saying Alleluia; 
for the Lord God omnipotent reigneth" (Rev. 19:. 
6). 

Truly we are highly favored among men. While 
we are now living in a time of great spiritual peril, 
and have to encounter many dangers by the way, 
yet we have more to enjoy, and God is more per- 
fectly revealing himself now, than at any other time 
since the apostles. 

"Brighter days are sweetly dawning, 
Oh, the glory looms in sight! 
For the cloudy day is waning, 
And the eve'ning shall be light. 

"Misty fogs, so long concealing 
All the hills of mingled night, 
Vanish, all their sin revealing, 
For the eve'ning shall be light. 

"Oh, what golden glory streaming! 
Purer light is coming fast; 
Now in Christ we've found a freedom, 
Which eternally shall last." 

Do you not think we should be very thankful since 
we are the most highly favored people on earth? 
"And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to 
the which also ye are called in one body; and be ye 
thankful" (Col. 3: 15). Those of us who have 
been delivered from the dark night of Babylon con- 
fusion, and translated into this glorious light, surely 



THE EVENING LIGHT 143 

have every kind of reason for which to be thankful. 
Therefore "let us be glad and rejoice, and give honor 
to him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and 
his wife hath made herself ready" (Rev. 19: 7). 
"And the kingdom and dominion, and the greatness 
of the kingdom under the whole heaven, shall be 
given to the people of the saints of the Most High, 
whose kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and all 
dominions shall serve and obey him" (Dan. 7: 27). 
Read Dan. 7: 15-28. 



144 TRIALS AND TRIUMPHS OF FAITH 

Chapter XIV 
Various Experiences in Gospel Work 

Soon after I discerned the one body, my brother 
and I visited St. James, Mo. We had labored there 
but a short time when Brother Warner and his com- 
pany came to the town to hold a camp-meeting. 
When I was first introduced to Brother Warner, he 
made the remark, "And so you are the sister that 
wanted to stay in Babylon in order to get wolves to 
take care of lambs?" and then broke into a hearty 
laugh. He referred to my remark that I was going 
to continue to work with the sects, so that whenever 
a congregation was raised up I could get a sectarian 
minister to serve as pastor. I enjoyed Brother War- 
ner's merriment, as I was free from sectarian bond- 
age. He was truly a man of God ; as meek, humble, 
and Christlike as any one I have ever met. Meeting 
him seemed very much like meeting Jesus himself. 
He was always ready to comfort and encourage 
young workers. He once felt so bad over having 
neglected to pray for a sister that was suffering, that 
he went to the altar and sought forgiveness, although 
his neglect had been due to the fact that he was so 
busy that he could scarcely have done otherwise than 
he did. 

Before I began traveling with my brother, he had 
labored at St. James, where quite a company of 



VARIOUS EXPERIENCES IN GOSPEL WORK 145 

saints was raised up. When we visited the town to- 
gether, strange things were happening. The mem- 
bers of the congregation were having peculiar mani- 
festations in their services — jumping, dancing, and 
doing other strange things, which they did not know 
whether to attribute to God or the devil, but which 
they thought were of the Lord. 

My experience at this time showed that I was not 
entirely free from the influence of the traditions that 
I had received when a child. In my early years I 
had been instructed that different bodily demon- 
strations, such as dancing, jumping, etc., which oc- 
curred in the sect meetings some fifty years before, 
were all of God. When, therefore, we visited this 
little town, we accepted all their demonstrations as 
being of God. I even let some who were possessed 
with devils lay hands on me. I became affected 
with their false spirit, and on certain occasions my 
joints would become stiff and I would fall in a trance. 

About this time Brother Warner and his company 
came to the town to hold a camp-meeting. As I 
went to shake hands with Mother Smith, who was 
with them at that time. I fell stiff. Mother Smith 
knew what Was the matter at once. At first Brother 
Warner was somewhat puzzled, as he could see that 
although some of us were affected by this false spirit, 
we still had the spirit of God. As he wanted to be 
sure of every step he took, he began to work very 
carefully, holding on to God for guidance. 



146 TRIALS AND TRIUMPHS OF FAITH 

Finally God showed him that the time had come 
to send forth judgment. He read the 12th, 13th, 
and 1 4th chapters of 1 Corinthians. He said he was 
going to give us a big gospel dish at this time, and 
when he came to the scripture, "Charity does not 
behave itself unseemly," the judgments went forth 
in mighty torrents. 

I was sitting in the congregation, knowing that I 
had some of the devil's chatties on me. At first I 
thought I would go out and pray it through ; then I 
said, "No, I will look to God right here where I 
am." I raised my hand to God and said, "Lord, 
you must show me what is of God and what is not, 
so I can take my stand for you." Before my hand 
went down, God made me to know that Brother 
Warner and his company were right, and that the 
judgments going forth were of the Lord. I took my 
stand for the truth. 

At this time and place it meant much to stand for 
the truth, for the whole country was polluted with 
this false spirit, and when judgment went forth, it 
stirred up the enemy throughout the whole country. 
As a result, a mob came that night after the services 
were ended, tore up the tents, and loaded everybody 
and everything connected with the meeting onto 
wagons and quietly sent them off the camp-ground. 
I was staying that night at a house about two miles 
from the camp-ground, and so was not present when 
the mob came. About two o'clock in the morning 



VARIOUS EXPERIENCES IN GOSPEL WORK 147 

Brother Warner, who had got separated from his 
company, came, with a number of others, to the 
house where I was staying. I was awakened very 
early in the morning to pray for a brother's child that 
was sick. I did not feel clear to do this alone, as I 
had not sufficient victory over the recent attack of 
the enemy. Finding out that Brother Warner was 
there, I called him. We laid hands on the child, 
prayed for it, and it was healed. 

Then I had them lay hands on me and pray that 
all the bad effects of the recent attack of the enemy 
might be overcome. There was still a stir all through 
the country, and soon the people began to gather at 
the house where we were staying. Many of them 
were now able to see that they had been under the 
influence of wicked spirits, and desired deliverance. 
So many came that from the time we had our break- 
fast in the morning until the sun went down at night, 
we stopped neither to eat nor to rest, but were con- 
tinually in prayer for those who wanted help. 

It had been the design of the mob to kill Brother 
Warner, but the Lord graciously delivered him. It 
was the second day after the mob came, before 
Brother Warner found his company; he and they 
had gone in different directions. In the days follow- 
ing, Mother Smith was quite helpful to me, as the 
enemy tried to depress and crush me; but the Lord 
brought me off more than conqueror. A number of 
other honest souls were also gloriously delivered at 



148 TRIALS AND TRIUMPHS OF FAITH 

this time; some of whom are New Testament min- 
isters today. 

God soon showed me that I must trust him for 
heavenly authority over devils and over every foul 
spirit. I came to God in earnest prayer, claimed 
my privilege as a minister, and obtained the gift of 
miracles. I soon had an opportunity to exercise the 
gift. 

The following spring, in company with my 
brother, I had the privilege of attending the Bangor, 
Mich., camp-meeting. For sometime I had felt the 
leadings of the Lord to go to this meeting, but I did 
not have the means. I began praying earnestly that 
God would open the way for me to go, but he saw 
fit to let my faith be tested. The time of the meeting 
was drawing near, and the money for my trip did not 
seem to be forthcoming. As the time approached 
and different people asked me if I was going, I would 
say yes. Some would ask me if I had the means for 
my car-fare, to which I would answer no. "Well," 
said they, "what will you do if God does not give 
you the means>" I replied, "I will trust him any- 
way." Soon, however, the Lord showed me that I 
should begin fasting and praying, and that I should 
not eat until the money was provided. Breakfast on 
Saturday morning was my last meal until the follow- 
ing Monday morning. By that time God had an- 
swered my prayer: I had enough money to take me 



VARIOUS EXPERIENCES IN GOSPEL WORK 149 

to the meeting, and there was a little left to apply 
on my return fare. 

It is unnecessary for me to say that I enjoyed this 
my first meeting after getting victory over my sec- 
tarian blindness, past traditions, etc. The meeting 
was certainly precious and heavenly. The songs 
w r ere so sweet, being sung in the spirit, and having 
such a heavenly melody. It seemed, almost, that I 
was where angels had congregated. Brother Warner 
would leap, shout, and praise the Lord, both in 
meeting and between meetings when he would meet 
a saint. Whenever a new saint came on the ground, 
you would hear shouts, praises, and halleluiahs, that 
would make the woods ring. In the morning when 
we first met each other, our salutations were, "Praise 
the Lord!" 'The Lord bless you!" etc. I have 
heard Brother Warner say when he met those who 
seemed to have no praises stirring in their souls, 
"Have you no calves this morning?" referring to the 
scripture, "We should offer the calves of our lips, 
even praises to our God." I have been present when, 
under the anointing of the Spirit, Brother Warner 
preached three hours and twenty-five minutes; and 
those that were interested were not the least bit tired. 

While my brother and I were attending a camp- 
meeting at Chanute, Kans., our systems got filled 
with malaria. Coming back to the home of Father 
Bolds, near Webb City, Mo., I soon came down 
with typhoid fever. My brother had an attack, also; 



150 TRIALS AND TRIUMPHS OF FAITH 

but, as he fought it more successfully than I, he 
soon recovered. I had a fight of faith. It seemed 
difficult for me to get hold of the Lord for healing. 
On examining my consecration, I found that I was 
more anxious to die than to live. When I got that 
difficulty out of the way, the Lord soon raised me up. 

Nevertheless, I lay three and one-half weeks, 
most of the time with my tongue swelled stiff in my 
mouth. I could eat no solid food, not even softened 
bread. During that time I lived on liquid foods, 
such as grape juice and buttermilk. Prayer had 
been offered for me several times, but without avail, 
for the reason that I have already given. One eve- 
ning, however, prayer was offered for me again. 
This time God gave the victory, rebuked the disease, 
and I was healed, although I was left very weak. 
The next evening prayer was again offered that my 
strength be restored, which petition God granted. 
The following morning Mother Bolds helped me to 
dress, and in company with her and Father Bolds 
and my brother, I got into a lumber-wagon and 
started to Joplin, Mo., seven miles away, to begin 
a meeting. 

That evening I testified, and the next day 
preached twice; although I could not walk alone, 
and had to be led by two persons for a week, and 
by one person for two weeks. It was two weeks be- 
fore the saliva came into my mouth. During this 
time, also a number of disorders appeared on my 



VARIOUS EXPERIENCES IN GOSPEL WORK 151 

body one after another, almost like new diseases. 
As each new affliction appeared, God helped me to 
trust him until it was removed . 

All this time, however, God had enabled me to 
help in the services — to preach, to testify, or to pray 
— whatever seemed to be my duty. Although I 
seemed able to do so much in the services, yet my 
mental vigor seemed not to have been restored suffi- 
ciently for me to carry on a conversation; and be- 
tween services, I would scarcely talk at all. Indeed, 
I was hardly able to think rationally very long at 
a time; but during the services when the anointing 
of God's Spirit was upon me, I hardly think any 
one could have told that I was laboring under any 
difficulties at all. 

The meeting at Joplin lasted four weeks. During 
that time my brother got a call to another place, and 
I was left to finish the meeting alone. In many ways 
my body was not yet normal, but it was improving 
surprisingly fast. Soon after my brother left, Mother 
Bolds came to call on me, and I begged her to stay 
until the close of the series of meetings. I felt so 
helpless yet that I could not keep from crying like 
a child. She encouraged me as best she could, and 
told me that she would go home and see to things 
there, and then come back next day and stay with 
me until the meeting ended. She was a great en- 
couragement to me and also a great help in the 
services. 



152 TRIALS AND TRIUMPHS OF FAITH 

Shortly after this I went with Father and Mother 
Bolds to help hold a meeting some distance from 
there in southern Missouri. Large crowds were in 
attendance, God blessed in the services, and souls 
were convicted and saved. A man and his wife 
who had professed to get saved, sent for us to come 
to their house, saying that they were sick. It was 
a peculiar case, one that we did not at all understand. 
Brother Bolds and I both went to God in earnest 
prayer, and the Lord revealed to each of us indepen- 
dently of the other that we had on hands a case of 
evil spirits. We laid on our hands, did all we could 
to cast them out; but as we did not know how to 
trust God for authority over them, they would not 
go. 

While dealing with this case, I learned that the 
man and his father had a grudge against each other, 
and had not been on speaking terms for sometime. 
We remained at the house until the night service, 
when the brother started with us to meeting. We 
had to pass his father's house on the way. Before 
starting, the man had asked me privately whether or 
not he ought to get the difficulty out from between 
him and his father. I advised him that he should. 
So when we came to his father's house, he tried to 
ask his father's forgiveness; but instead of doing 
as he purposed, the devils began to talk through 
him and to make strange noises. The son's demon- 
strations stirred up the devil in his father, who began 



VARIOUS EXPERIENCES IN GOSPEL WORK 153 

to rage against Brother Bolds, and to abuse him, 
calling him wicked vile names. I said to Sister 
Bolds: 'The Lord has used us as well as Brother 
Bolds in the meeting, and I think we ought to be 
willing to take our share of the abuse. Let us go up 
where they are talking." As we appeared, the 
father turned on me. He said everything that the 
devil could bring to his mind, but the more he said, 
the happier I became. Finally, Brother Bolds said, 
"Sister Cole, I think we had better hurry on to meet- 
ing, as the congregation will be there and will be dis- 
appointed if we are late." It seemed that I could 
hardly tear myself away from the place, God was 
so wonderfully pouring his glory into my soul. The 
demon-possessed man came along with us, growling 
and whining like a dog, and making other strange 
noises. He kept up these demonstrations during the 
entire meeting. Some of the unsaved people seemed 
to understand just how matters were and enjoyed it 
immensely. They laughed and had great fun. 

For two weeks afterward the devil-possessed man 
was completely deranged mentally. His father 
guarded the house and would not let Brother Bolds 
call on him; although, when the son saw Brother 
Bolds, he would say, "If you will let that man in, 
I will soon be all right." After two weeks his 
mental powers were restored, but he was com- 
pletely turned against the truth, and would not come 
to meeting any more. 



154 TRIALS AND TRIUMPHS OF FAITH 

On the night of which we have been speaking, I 
had promised to go back and stay all night at the 
home of the son. During the night the Lord woke 
me up and brought to mind very forcibly that the 
powers of hell were there, and that I was in the pres- 
ence of a murderous spirit. The Lord impressed me 
that I should lie awake and pray. Early in the morn- 
ing my host began to call to me at the top of his 
voice: "Leave, old Satan! leave, old Satan!" * My 
first thought was, "This is his home, and I shall be 
compelled to leave." Snow lay about a foot deep 
on the ground, and the air was cold and sharp. It 
was a mile to the nearest house. My next thought 
was, "Why, my name is not old Satan, and I will 
not answer to Satan's name; but if he calls me Mary 
Cole, and tells me to leave, I will go as soon as I 
can, because it is his place, and not mine." 

He left the house and went to the barn to feed his 
stock. I got up and dressed and was impressed to 
remain until he came back, and then to ask him the 
privilege of having prayer with him. It seemed that 
he could not refuse my request. So I read and 
prayed. Up to this time, I had been bothered very 
much by my feelings; but now I just leaned on God 
alone, trusted in his word, claimed the promises, and 
prayed that he would bring me off more than con- 
queror. The Lord made me understand that he 
gave me power over all the powers of the enemy. 

After prayer the man called me in to breakfast. 



VARIOUS EXPERIENCES IN GOSPEL WORK 155 

God had already shown me that he did not want me 
to eat breakfast; so I told the man I did not care for 
any. He insisted that I come, and began to cry ; but 
I did not go. The door being open between the room 
where I was and the room in which they were eating, 
I heard him say, "Wife, I believe we are mistaken; 
I believe those are the people of God." The next 
morning being Sunday, he went with me to the meet- 
ing, but that was the last one he attended. 

This was but a short time after I had the typhoid 
fever. The fight with the enemy in which I had 
been engaged, strengthened my faith greatly. I was 
now more ready to cope with devils than I had 
ever been before. I had been very weak on that 
point. Before the experience which I have just re- 
lated, if I felt all right, I thought everything was all 
right; but if my feelings were not good, I began to 
doubt God's promises. God had just brought me 
off more than conqueror in a severe conflict, and I 
was now ready to take him at his word, no matter 
how the enemy raged, and no matter how bad I 
felt. My faith was now grounded in knowledge. 

During the meeting we were then holding, we had 
to endure some persecutions. One cold night some 
one put red pepper on the stove. The stove was in 
the center of the room, and the fumes from the pepper 
almost stifled the people. They had to run out to 
keep from choking. Brother Bolds quickly raised 
the window opposite the door, and the draft between 



156 TRIALS AND TRIUMPHS OF FAITH 

the window and the door soon drove the stifling 
fumes from the house. Although the people were 
so affected by the fumes of the pepper, yet we min- 
isters did not suffer a bit. Twice during this meet- 
ing we were egged — once with frozen eggs. None 
of the eggs, however, hit any of us. Two persons 
who were not fully decided to stand for the truth, 
got some benefit of the eggs. On the road to meet- 
ing one night, some of the opposers of the truth were 
egged by their comrades, who mistook them for 
members of our company. 

Several times after getting light on the church I 
had the privilege of helping in meetings in my own 
home. These were attended with good results: a 
few got deliverance and were established in the 
whole truth. Some are true to God yet. One time 
while at my home, Sister Lodema Kaser and I 
went to a little town named Greenridge, about ten 
miles away ; and, being solicited by some good honest 
souls to hold a meeting, we began services at that 
place. A good interest soon began to be manifested : 
conviction settled on the people, and hands began 
to go up for prayer. The meetings had continued 
nearly a week, when we received a pressing call 
from Kansas to come at once to hold services in a 
certain town. As God was working in a marvelous 
way where we were, I did not feel clear to go. Even 
after prayer I still felt that we should continue the 
meeting where we were. 



VARIOUS EXPERIENCES IN GOSPEL WORK 157 

The second letter had come, I think, insisting that 
we should come. Then I began to infer that if I did 
not heed this call, they would think that I was re- 
fusing because I was so near home. So I submitted 
and went. To the surprise of the brother who had 
asked us to come, the Spirit of the Lord did not 
work in the meeting. The brother soon saw his 
mistake and asked my pardon. He said, "Sister 
Cole, I will never do such a thing again." 

We did not remain long at this place. The only 
fruit of our labors, so far as we know, was one dear 
sister who got under conviction, but who did not 
get a chance to become acquainted with the whole 
truth until fifteen years afterward, but the light that 
she got at that time and the conviction that came 
upon her, followed her until she was gloriously 
saved. This was Sister Matilda Magley. The last 
news I had from her, she was a precious saint of 
God. Another result of this meeting was, that we 
learned a good lesson. In the future, we were more 
careful how we let others persuade us out of God's 
order. 

I hold that God's true ministers who live cloee to 
him are able to get their own leadings from the Lord, 
especially where souls are at stake. God wants us 
to have our own individuality. True, the Word says, 
"Be subject to one another," but we are to be sub- 
ject always in conformity with his will and his Word. 
I know that I have had to trust my individual lead- 



158 TRIALS AND TRIUMPHS OF FAITH 

ing; I have had to depend upon them to keep me 
from being led off by wrong influences and spirits. 
When I saw my privilege to individually learn God's 
will, I took advantage of it, and I have had reason 
to thank God for the protection of his Spirit. 

God's children should be very careful not to urge 
his servants away from a place before God says go, 
nor should they urge them to come to a place until 
God is through with them where they are laboring. 
By so doing, souls may be lost that otherwise would 
be saved. At one time I had four pressing calls to 
hold meetings in different places, and every one of 
them contained the promise, "We will pay your fare 
both ways if you will come." God showed me that 
I should not accept any of them; but should go in 
another direction, taking my own money to pay my 
fare. I went, happy in knowing that I was in God's 
order. Dear ones, let us depend upon the leadings 
of God's Spirit, and not allow our financial interests 
to bias our decisions. 

While traveling in the West, Brother Warner 
and his company had held a meeting at Galesburg, 
Kans., in which a certain woman was saved. Previous 
to this time she had been a member of a sect and was 
unsaved. Her husband, who was a doctor and had 
once had an experience of salvation, was greatly de- 
lighted to think that his wife had an experimental 
knowledge of Christ. It seemed that he could 
scarcely have been happier had he been saved him* 



VARIOUS EXPERIENCES IN GOSPEL WORK 159 

self. After his wife was saved, he sent for Sister 
Kaser and me to come and hold a meeting. We 
came; but when he met us at the train, we were not 
the capable-looking people that he expected to see, 
and he was quite taken aback. Nevertheless, he 
invited us to his house and was very hospitable. We 
found his wife to be a precious saint. 

The meetings began; conviction came upon the 
people; and God began to save souls. Our burden 
was mostly for the soul of the doctor. At first he 
seemed quite unconcerned about himself, but much 
concerned for others. But God was working, and 
conviction soon fastened upon him. At last I ven- 
tured to ask him to raise his hand for prayer, which 
he did. Next day I asked him to take further steps 
toward his salvation; but he said, "Sister Cole, I did 
as you asked me to last night, and I don't feel any 
better — I feel worse." I did what I could to en- 
courage him, and the Spirit of the Lord continued to 
work with him. After meeting one night, his load 
had become so heavy he could not carry it any 
longer, and he then and there requested earnest 
prayer. It was near midnight before God spoke 
peace to his soul, but a happier person you could 
hardly find. He soon saw that the old sin principle 
was still in his heart and the enemy suggested, "Do 
not get sanctified; you will have to give up certain 
things that you won't care to give up yet. Just live 
a good justified life." In some way God gave him 



160 TRIALS AND TRIUMPHS OF FAITH 

a warning that he must seek sanctification. He 
heeded God's voice, came to the altar, and was fully 
sanctified. God soon had his hand on him for the 
work. This was Bro. S. G. Bryant. 

A man at Essex, 111., became interested in the 
meetings we were holding there. He was educated 
in four different languages, made a profession of 
religion, and belonged, I think, to some denomina- 
tion, but had no experience of salvation. He soon 
saw that he needed help from God and came to the 
altar. He had a desperate struggle. He said his 
education did not help him to get saved, but was 
only a hindrance, and got between him and God. 
He wept and plead with God just like any other poor 
sinner, and finally broke loose from the things that 
seemed to hinder him and was made to rejoice in 
the Savior's love. Later he came to the altar and 
was sanctified. Soon God's hand was on him for 
spiritual work, and later he became a minister. This 
was Bro. Addison Kriebel. 

This incident shows that while education is all 
right and a good thing to have, yet it is no help in 
seeking the Lord. The scripture says, that the wis- 
dom of this world is foolishness with God. Nor will 
education bring soul-rest; it can not be substituted 
for spirituality. Education, however, need not be 
a hindrance to spirituality if spirituality be made the 
master and education the servant. If this relation- 



VARIOUS EXPERIENCES IN GOSPEL WORK 161 

ship be maintained, the child of God is safe in the 
possession of education. 

At one time my brother Jeremiah was talking to 
a professor of a college about his soul, and trying 
to get him to seek the Lord. The professor seemed 
to be full of learning, and his affections were so set 
on the things of this world, that Jeremiah could 
scarcely make any impression on him. While they 
were talking, the professor's little two-year-old child, 
who was playing near by, came up and said, "Pap^, 
Papa, put your affections on things above," and 
returned again to her play. 'There," said my 
brother, "can you take that? Can you accept the 
lesson the Lord wants to give you?" Wise as the 
professor was, he was confounded, knowing that 
God must have put this speech into the heart of his 
little child to reprove him. "Out of the mouth of 
babes and sucklings hast thou ordained strength, be- 
cause of thine enemies, that thou mightest still the 
enemy and the avenger" (Psa. 8:2). 

At one time when Sister Kaser had been called 
home, I went home on a visit. While there, I got 
a call to Meridian, Kans., to hold a meeting. I 
arrived at the town on an early morning train, 
remained in the depot until daylight, and then hired 
a boy to carry my valise to the home of the minister, 
Mr. J. W. Wyrick, who was pastor at that place. 
The door was opened in response to my knock ; and, 
as I stepped in, I received a very strange impression. 



162 TRIALS AND TRIUMPHS OF FAITH 

The disordered house struck me peculiarly; but my 
mind was relieved when the man said that his child 
was lying very sick and that they had been taking 
turns sitting up with it. In an inner room, I found 
his wife, a pitiful, sad-looking person, with a face 
that bespoke trouble. I kept my feelings and thoughts 
to myself, knowing that the Lord was able to guide 
me aright and to use me to his glory. I felt wonder- 
fully impressed, however, with the presence of evil 
spirits. Not being able to locate them, or to reach 
any definite conclusion, I waited for further develop- 
ments. 

The meeting began. There were at least three 
factions in the congregation, and I could see but 
very little good in any of them. The man at whose 
house I was staying, claimed to represent the church 
of God. Meeting had continued but a little while 
before his conduct showed me his spiritual condition, 
and God wonderfully burdened me for his soul. 
While he was in prayer, God showed me that hfs 
case was serious, and that he was badly under the 
power of the enemy. It happened at the meeting. 
The young folks were misbehaving during prayer- 
time, and Mr. Wyrick prayed against them so vin- 
dictively that it was not hard to tell of what spirit 
he was. 

I soon felt led to renounce the wrong spirit that 
Mr. Wyrick had already exhibited in prayer. This 
stirred him up. He knew that he had not been act- 



VARIOUS EXPERIENCES IN GOSPEL WORK 163 

ing right, and he insisted that I should come to his 
home for a talk. I did not feel led to go to his 
house; but he insisted from time to time. Finally 
his wife came to me and said, "I wish you would 
come to the house, as it might make my husband 
treat me better." For her sake I went; but oh, the 
awful spirit I met! 

If there had been any want of evidence as to the 
man's condition, that want was now supplied. He 
began a tirade — said that Eve was the downfall of 
the world, and number of other things derogatory to 
woman's character. He told me that he had had a 
dream in which a forked-tongued snake had been 
trying to kill him. "You," said he, "are that forked- 
tongued snake." I told him that I could bear his 
abuse for Christ's sake. "But it is not for Christ's 
sake; it is your own devilish work." I could not 
reason with him at all, and so I said, "Let us pray." 
First I prayed, and then he prayed — an abusive 
prayer against me. He kept pouring out his abusive 
talk, until I closed the door — "slammed it," he said, 
which was false. God kept me clear through it 
all; but he made me to know that he did not want 
me to meet such cases alone any more, that others 
should be present to be agreed with me, and to stand 
against the powers of hell. 

For several years my youngest brother, George, 
had been impressed that God wanted him to go into 
gospel work. He came to where we were then hold- 



164 TRIALS AND TRIUMPHS OF FAITH 

mg meeting. He seemed to think that God had 
sent him to us for the especial purpose of making 
me more useful and effectual in gospel work, which 
no doubt was the case. Nevertheless, God had a 
deeper design in his coming. 

We were soon to go East to a camp-meeting. 
Although, when George left home he had only 
means enough to take him to the camp-meeting, yet 
God had shown him that he should come farther 
west before he went to the meeting. Before the 
time came for us to start, the railroad had cut rates 
so that we could travel for about one-third fare. 
God had worked it out so that we all could attend 
the meeting. 

At a meeting Brother George and I were holding 
in Illinois, there was a brother who wanted to walk 
by faith. He thought that in order to make a success 
of such an experience he would have to ask the Lord 
to take away all feeling. I suppose he must have 
prayed until he got his prayer through, for God 
certainly did withdraw all good feelings from him. 
He took a severe affliction which caused his face 
and parts of his body to swell badly, and which 
brought on intense suffering. God seemed to be 
present when we prayed for him, but the brother was 
not healed, and his suffering became so severe that 
we were greatly burdened for him, and went to God 
in very earnest prayer to know wherein the difficulty 
lay. God showed us how the brother had praved. 



VARIOUS EXPERIENCES IN GOSPEL WORK 165 

and when we told him what the Lord had revealed 
to us, he saw his mistake and made matters right 
with the Lord, then he was soon gloriously healed. 
I have no idea that he ever asked the Lord again to 
take away all good feelings so as to enjoy walking 
by faith. 

Some few years later, while Sister Kaser, my 
brother and I were in Robinson, Kans., at a camp- 
meeting word came that my father was very sick 
and wished my brother and me to come at once. 
Brother Warner and his company were in this meet- 
ing. God was gloriously working, and souls were 
being saved. When the letter came, therefore, we 
felt very reluctant to leave, and after going to God 
in earnest prayer, we could not feel that he wanted 
us to start that day. Besides, I felt impressed that 
if we should start that day we should not get through 
to see him alive anyway, so we delayed our trip un- 
til the day following. 

For about two weeks God had been impressing 
me that I was going to have a severe trial, at the 
same time bringing to me these comforting words: 
"I will go with you through it" This promise had 
been on my mind many times. The next morn- 
ing we got a telegram that father was dead, and the 
enemy tried to crush me with the accusation that I 
did not love my father or I would have started to him 
the day before. Upon receipt of this telegram 
George and I started at once. We had not pro- 



166 TRIALS AND TRIUMPHS OF FAITH 

ceeded far on our journey until we learned that the 
train we should have taken had we gone the day 
before, was wrecked. Some of the cars went into 
the river. The Lord's warning had possibly saved 
us from death; but if not, from unnecessary delay, 
because had we taken that train, we should not 
have reached our destination any sooner than we 
did. 

As I stood and gazed upon the still form of my 
father and remembered that a great deal of his Chris- 
tian life had not been satisfactory, I wished I could 
have talked with him before he was taken. 

The night after the funeral, when I had retired 
to rest, God began to talk to me. "Did I not tell 
you that you were going to pass through deep 
waters?" 'Yes/* "Did I not tell you that I would 
go through with you?" 'Yes." "Have I not done 
as I promised?" 'Yes." Certainly he was a pres- 
ent help — all and more than I could have wished — 
yes, and more than I comprehended at that time. I 
was so sustained that I did not at all realize the 
weight of the burden, because Jesus bore it for me. 

A little later God seemed to withdraw some of 
his sustaining power and let me feel to some degree 
how heavy the burden really was. It seemed that 
the life would be crushed out of me. I asked the 
Lord the reason, and he plainly showed me that if 
he had not withdrawn his sustaining power I should 
never have known what a burden he had been bear- 



VARIOUS EXPERIENCES IN GOSPEL WORK 167 

ing for me. I thought, too, that another object, no 
doubt, was to develop in me greater sympathy for 
others carrying a similar load. 

As I still felt burdened for the salvation of souls 
at Robinson, Kans., I returned to that place, and 
my brother remained to look after father's business. 
God gave me stirring messages. A number of souls 
that had been convicted got down to business and 
were saved. God's design was accomplished, and 
my soul was relieved. 

Our next place of meeting was Wichita, Kans. 
Our company was to join Brother Warner's com- 
pany in a camp-meeting at that place. He had 
received the money to defray the traveling-expenses 
of both companies. Our company was to meet them 
at the Robinson depot on a certain morning, and all 
were to travel together. There had been some mis- 
understanding, so Sister Kaser and I were not pres- 
ent. Brother Warner, therefore, left word that we 
should borrow the money and that he would make it 
right with us when we reached our destination. 

Sister Kaser and I did not start until the following 
morning. We told the saints about the misunder- 
standing and explained that we did not have the 
money to pay our way. They did not make us a 
loan, but gave us the money. Not knowing how 
much the fare was, we asked for too small a sum, 
not wishing to ask for any more than we absolutely 
needed. 



168 TRIALS AND TRIUMPHS OF FAITH 

We could buy a ticket only to St. Joseph, Mo., 
our first stopping-place, ,and therefore we did not 
know how much money we lacked, until we reached 
that place and asked for tickets to Wichita. To our 
surprise, we found that we had just enough to pay 
our way to Newton, Kans., twenty miles east of 
Wichita. At first we felt somewhat dismayed to 
think of going without money to a strange town. 
We told the station agent of our predicament and 
also of our having friends at both ends of the road, 
and asked him what we had better do. He advised 
us to send a telegram to both places. In the mean- 
while we sent a telegram up to the Lord, and he 
showed us that we should buy our tickets to Newton 
and trust him to bring matters out all right. We 
were shouting happy. I remarked to Sister Kaser, 
"If some of these people on the train knew our cir- 
cumstances and knew how happy we are, they would 
think we were ready for the insane asylum." 

In the meantime, my brother George was planning 
to attend the same camp-meeting. He did not know 
what day we were going, nor did we know the day 
he was going. After he got started, he found that 
he was on a road that made very poor connections, 
and said to himself, "If I did not know that God 
was leading me to go this way, I should surely think 
I was out of order." Just before we got to Newton, 
where we thought we should have to stop because we 
had no money to go further, George got on the 



VARIOUS EXPERIENCES IN GOSPEL WORK 169 

train, rode with us to Newton, got off at the station, 
and bought our tickets on to Wichita, and we did 
not have to leave our seats. 

When we got to the meeting, Brother Warner 
helped us to take a good shout, and refunded the 
money that had been given him to pay our fares. 
We had a glorious camp-meeting and numbers were 
saved. Hypocrites made some disturbance, but God 
overruled. 

While here we met a man by the name of Joseph 
Prouse, who invited us to come to his place to hold 
a meeting. We went. The meeting had been in 
progress three days, when, as we were in a private 
conversation, talking about the nationality of those 
present, we found out that Brother Prouse was re- 
lated to my family. His mother and my mother 
were half-sisters, both being children of the same 
father. Brother Prouse was the first relative of ours 
that we had ever met or heard of that had accepted 
the whole truth. Not only Brother Prouse was saved, 
but also his wife and some of his children. Truly 
we had a time of great rejoicing. It seemed so good 
to find some of our relatives that knew God and 
were living Christian lives. The event was so un- 
expected and such a glad surprise that we praised 
the Lord together. 

Shortly before going to Galesburg, Kans., to hold 
a meeting, I received a few lines from Brother War- 
ner telling me that two gospel workers, a man and a 



170 TRIALS AND TRIUMPHS OF FAITH 

woman, would join me at that place. In his letter 
he gave me to understand their spiritual condition 
so that we should know how to proceed for their 
good and our own protection. The brother at the 
place where we were holding the meeting had been 
saved but a very short time, and was not therefore 
able to discern false spirits. When he saw that there 
was no fellowship between these two people and our 
company, he was tempted to think that it was be- 
cause we did not have compassion for them. God 
soon showed him, however, that they were in a bad 
spiritual condition and that our company was all 
right. From that time we had his help and encour- 
agement. 

After a day of prayer and fasting for the couple 
that needed help, they both humbled themselves. 
The man fell to the floor stiff under the power of 
the enemy, but the woman desired deliverance. So 
far as we could understand, God delivered both of 
them, but as they did not take a stand against the 
evil spirits that had been troubling them, they got 
into the same condition again. Under the influence 
of a spirit of accusation, they wrote a letter to Brother 
Warner finding fault with our company of workers. 

Bro. Charlie Williams, who was at that time a 
member of our company, was corresponding with 
Brother Warner. In his letters Brother Warner 
would say, "God bless you, Brother Charlie!" but 
he would never say, "God bless you, Sister Kaser 



VARIOUS EXPERIENCES IN GOSPEL WORK 171 

and Sister Cole!" At that time the enemy was 
coming against our souls with terrible accusing power, 
and we felt that we needed a blessing very much. 
The accusations of the enemy continued for about 
two weeks, during which time it seemed that our 
lives would be crushed out of us. Waking up early 
one morning, I said, "O Lord! why is it I can't get 
consolation from a certain source," meaning "Why 
can't I get an encouraging letter from Brother War- 
ner." The Lord answered, "I will give you con- 
solation first-handed if you will accept it." My heart 
opened up to God as a little flower opens to the 
morning dew, and oh, how I drank in the good things 
of the kingdom ! 

Then as I found myself, as it were, in a large 
room with the Lord, feasting on his beauties, his 
grandeur and glory, the scripture came so forcibly 
to me : "A day in thy courts is better than a thousand. 
I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my 
God, than to dwell in the tents of wickedness" (Psa. 
84: 10). In my thought I could compare my ex- 
perience to that of a little child accustomed to but 
few pretty things and poor surroundings who was 
put into a beautiful parlor containing all sorts of 
beautiful things for its pleasure. Being told to help 
itself, it would walk up and down the room with 
delight, hardly knowing what to take hold of or to 
enjoy first. In this experience through which I had 
iust passed, I learned the precious lesson that trial is 



172 TRIALS AND TRIUMPHS OF FAITH 

to God's true children like a wine-press to the grape. 
As the wine-press brings out the pure juice of the 
grape, so the trials of a child of God bring out and 
puts on exhibition a pure Christian character. 

On going East soon after these events, we met 
Brother Warner and told him of our experience 
and of Satan's tempting us to think that he would 
renounce us. He answered: "No, Sister Cole, we 
we wouldn't have renounced you, but had we been 
near enough and had known what you were passing 
through, we would, had it been in our power, have 
gone to you and done all we could to help you." 

During the first summer that my youngest brother 
was with us in the work, he did not take a very active 
part. There were several reasons for this. Before 
leaving home he was nearly broken down through 
overwork. Besides, like almost all young workers, 
he was timid and backward, and needed encourage- 
ment and support. When the battle was strong, he 
would not be able to bear much responsibility. I 
would doubtless have been tempted in regard to my 
brother's condition had not God made me to know 
that I must be patient and give his body time to re- 
cuperate and give him a chance to develop as a 
worker. 

Late in the fall we began a series of meetings in 
company with another gospel worker who had been 
in the work for sometime. This worker suggested 
to me in the early part of the meeting, "You and I 



VARIOUS EXPERIENCES IN GOSPEL WORK 173 

will do the preaching, and toward the end your 
brother can have an opportunity to exercise himself." 
He spoke as though, should my brother try to take 
part, the meeting would be spoiled. I said but little 
in reply, feeling sure that God was able to manage 
things. As a result of this brother's attitude, how- 
ever, the accuser also turned on my brother's soul, 
and as a result, discouragements set in on him thick 
and fast. I felt that something was going wrong and 
spoke about it to the older brother, telling him that 
George needed encouragement and not holding back, 
as he was timid. The brother assured me that he 
was giving George all the encouragement he could. 
Not long after the events of which I have been 
speaking, I had a dream in which I thought my 
brother told me that this minister was holding him 
back and at the same time whipping him and finding 
fault with him for not moving out. When I awoke, 
I told the dream to a sister with the remark, "Well, 
this is nothing but a dream, and I don't believe there 
is anything in it." Nevertheless, it troubled my 
mind until I asked my brother about the matter, con- 
cluding with the remark, "I guess there isn't any- 
thing in it." He answered, 'Yes, Mary, I guess 
there is something in it," and began to cry. God 
stirred up my soul, and at the first opportunity I 
talked to the older brother and told him what God 
had shown me in a dream. He said, "Oh, your 
brother has been talking to you about it." I said, 



174 TRIALS AND TRIUMPHS OF FAITH 

"No, God showed me first, and then I asked my 
brother about it." The brother promised that he 
would never do so again. 

George and I visited a brother (Harvey W.) 
of ours that we had not seen for nineteen years, not 
since I was a little girl and sorely afflicted. He looked 
at me with big tears running down his cheeks and 
said, "Mary, I can see that God has done more for 
you than you can understand, as I have not seen you 
for so long.'* A few months later, upon his invita- 
tion we came and held a series of meetings in his 
neighborhood. He had once been a Protestant 
Methodist preacher, and had enjoyed an experience 
of salvation, but had been quite doctrinized in the 
"one-work theory." When we came to hold a meet- 
ing, he began to defend his pet theory. I soon saw 
there was no use to explain the Scriptures to him, as 
he was unsaved, so I said to him: "Now, Harvey, 
you know you haven't got the first work, so we will 
not argue about the second. Come to the Lord. Let 
him forgive you and save you from your sins, and 
if you find that you get sanctified at the same time, 
we will gladly accept your doctrine, but if not, you 
will know it." Before the meeting closed, he came 
to the altar, called on God for mercy, and obtained 
forgiveness. As he arose from the altar, I came to 
him, praised the Lord with him and said, "Now, 
brother, do you know that you have received both 
justification and sanctification?" "No, Mary," he 



VARIOUS EXPERIENCES IN GOSPEL WORK 175 

said, "I think I did well to get my sins forgiven." 

We were once holding a camp-meeting in Ne- 
braska at a new place. The Spirit of the Lord was 
working mightily. Souls were being saved and sanc- 
tified, and bodies were being healed. Much was to 
be done, and especially toward the close of the meet- 
ing our time was fully occupied. While we were the 
busiest, a brother brought an insane woman to the 
camp-meeting for healing. Her husband accom- 
panied her. As we were so rushed with the general 
duties of the meeting, we had no time to give atten- 
tion to so important a case until the meeting was over. 
We told the brother that if the man and his wife 
would remain until after the meeting was over, we 
would then do all we could for her deliverance. 

The meeting closed on Sunday evening, and on 
Monday afternoon after we had packed our things 
ready for the next meeting, we took the case under 
consideration and sought the Lord for wisdom as to 
what should be done, and one of the company 
(George) obtained this promise: "God does not 
give us the spirit of fear, but of love, of power, and 
of a sound mind." While we were at prayer, the 
insane woman was down-stairs with a little girl, to 
whom she remarked, "My prayers are up-stairs." 
She seemed in some way to be conscious that some- 
thing was being done for her benefit. 

The woman for whom we had been praying had 
before her marriage been a bright, intelligent teacher. 



176 TRIALS AND TRIUMPHS OF FAITH 

Before she became afflicted, she weighed 190 
pounds, but at the time of which we are speaking, 
she weighed only 1 1 pounds. I can not say posi- 
tively what was the cause of her insanity; but as 
near as I remember, she wished to become a Chris- 
tian, and as some of her relatives opposed, her mind 
gradually became unbalanced. At the time she 
came to us for prayer, they said she did not sleep 
for a whole hour during any night, but was walking, 
talking, or moving about in some way. 

As we waited on the Lord in her behalf, our souls 
were encouraged. We came down-stairs, anointed 
the woman, prayed for her, and claimed the promi- 
ses; but when we arose from our knees, she was, so 
far as we could see, ten times worse than before. 
We did not look at outward appearances, however, 
but praised God and rested on his promises and 
counted him faithful in fulfilling them. 

That evening we went our different ways, but be- 
fore we separated, wc could see a marked change in 
her for the better. My brother asked them to keep 
us posted as to how she got along, and about a week 
later we received word that she was much better and 
was improving rapidly. About six weeks afterward, 
I think it was, they said there was scarcely any 
signs of her insanity. She had resumed her duties 
as mother and housewife, and was gaining flesh. 
Just a short time before this latter report, it was said 
that upon the appearance of some little symptom of 



VARIOUS EXPERIENCES IN GOSPEL WORK 177 

her former malady, one of her relatives tried to make 
her take medicine. The brother who related the 
story, said in his peculiar German way, that she 
"spitted it out and wouldn't take it." So far as we 
have ever learned, the sister was fully restored to 
health. 

When we are earnestly looking to God in behalf 
of some one who needs help, and he gives us a 
precious promise, it is undoubtedly our privilege and 
duty to claim the promise and to be strengthened and 
encouraged thereby. If God does not want to work 
in the case, doubtless he will not impress us with a 
promise in this way. At such times we should not 
feel timid. God is leading, and if we will move 
forward in faith as rapidly as he leads us, he is 
sure to bring us off more than conqueror. 

While working in Oklahoma, we became ac- 
quainted with the members of a new sect known as 
'The Followers." Some articles of their faith were 
similar to those of the Christian, or Cambellite, de- 
nomination. Besides these, they believed in the re- 
ception of the Holy Ghost by the laying on of hands; 
they professed to speak in tongues and to interpret, 
a demonstration which God made us to know was a 
deception of the devil. But the most peculiar tenet 
of their faith was that their members were not 
counted perfect until they could pick up a snake 
without injury. This belief was, we suppose, based 
on the scripture found in Mark 16: 18: "They shall 



178 TRIALS AND TRIUMPHS OF FAITH 

take up serpents." A number of them were able to 
do this without any bad result, but a few were bitten 
so badly that they came near dying. The Lord 
made us to understand so clearly the spiritual condi- 
tion of these people that we felt clear in pointing out 
their delusion. 

In a dream that I had at this time, I saw a fero- 
cious wild animal coming to take my life. It seemed 
that if I could get hold of its horns God would pro- 
tect me and help me to overcome it. During the 
meeting of which I have been speaking, we went 
home with one of the families of The Followers. As 
we were returning to the meeting in the evening, one 
of their number who professed to talk with tongues 
and to have great authority, began talking his jargon 
as though he were pronouncing vengeance on us. 
God gave me to understand that this was the wild 
animal of my dream and that I should trust God 
and rebuke the devil, which I did. God put his 
rebuke on the spirit, and that night, through us, ex- 
posed the false doctrine. One of the leaders came 
out, got a good experience of salvation, and became 
a minister of the present truth. A number of others 
also got established in the church of God. 

Shortly after the events related above, we went 
to Nishnabotna, where we met a spirit similar to 
the one we had encountered at St. James, Mo. The 
demonstrations, however, were not quite so vile, but 
the spirit was making progress in the community 



VARIOUS EXPERIENCES IN GOSPEL WORK 179 

and had a number under its influence. In their meet- 
ings they would jump and dance and talk about the 
great power they had. They declared it was God's 
power and that if any one went against it, something 
dreadful would happen to him. They even went so 
far as to say that if any one spoke against the de- 
monstration they made or "the power," as they called 
it, God would strike him dead. 

That same evening one of their number invited us 
to go home with him. Our conveyance was an old- 
fashioned farm-wagon. For some reason I did not 
feel clear in going alone, as the powers of the enemy 
were so plainly manifested. I therefore asked a 
certain sister to go with me. We had not gone far 
until the enemy came at me with great force. "Now 
you know what was said tonight — that those who 
opposed the power would be struck dead, and I am 
going to kill you." I said, "No, you are not." 
'Yes, I will." "No, you are not." I immediately 
leaned on God and trusted him for protection. 
Within a few minutes the enemy tried to carry his 
threat into effect. The wagon was on the side of a 
ridge about half way between the summit and the 
base of a high hill. On our left hand below us a 
number of feet lay a stream, on our right was a high 
cliff, and ahead of us was a team which began to balk 
and push back toward our wagon. For a few min- 
utes it seemed that we must be either crushed by the 
big team in front or thrown into the stream, God 



180 TRIALS AND TRIUMPHS OF FAITH 

came to our rescue, and the other team was brought 
under control before ours became very much ex- 
cited. While the danger threatened us, however, 
we got out of the wagon, and the sister who was with 
me sprained her ankle badly. None of the rest of 
us were hurt. Again the Lord's promises were 
proved true and the devil a liar. 

A number of people who had been under the false 
spirit, when they heard the truth and learned the 
difference between the workings of the Spirit of the 
Lord and the demonstrations of false, deceptive 
spirits, proved themselves honest at heart, took a 
stand against the enemy, and got deliverance. A 
number of them are still walking in the light of divine 
truth. 

At the Beaver Dam, Ind., camp-meeting I had 
rather an amusing experience. There was a woman 
on the grounds who had been delivered of evil 
spirits; but as she had not taken the proper stand 
against the enemy, she had again become possessed. 
I met her soon after my arrival, and she began almost 
immediately to try to teach me in regard to dress. 
As I understood her condition, I said to her plainly, 
"I know that you are devil-possessed. Wait until 
you get deliverance again, and then if God gives 
you a message I will receive it. I will not receive 
a message from the devil." She smiled and walked 
away. 

A number of the sisters slept in an attic. As we 



VARIOUS EXPERIENCES IN GOSPEL WORK 181 

were about to retire one night, the devil-possessed 
woman was acting like an insane person, throwing 
the bed-clothes down-stairs and acting in a way that 
showed that the devil had full control of her. Some 
of the sisters, becoming frightened, huddled in the 
corner of the room for fear she would hurt them. 
In the confusion, I forgot for the moment to trust 
in God. Instead of thinking of God and his protecting 
power, I thought that the enemy might touch the 
woman's brain, make her insane, and cause her to 
do almost any desperate deed. I thought it would 
be well to protect myself and acted accordingly. 
Just then Mother Smith, who had been informed of 
what was going on in the attic, came on the scene, 
and found the woman raging in the middle of the 
room and the rest of us huddled in the corners. 

Mother Smith took in the situation at a glance, 
and, pointing a finger at me said: "Shame on you, 
Sister Mary! afraid of the devil! This is nothing 
but the work of the devil, and here you are hiding 
from the devil. Shame on you, Sister Mary!" It 
would be impossible to tell you how I felt, and so I 
shall not try, neither shall I make excuses nor plead 
my case. I came out of my corner and Mother 
Smith began at once to tell us what must be done. 
She said that the devil-possessed woman must sleep 
between her and me that night. She had her way. 
It was not a pleasant night, and I got but little rest. 
Every little while the woman would take a spell of 



182 TRIALS AND TRIUMPHS OF FAITH 

choking and then laugh in a silly way. At such 
times Mother Smith and I would lay on our hands 
and rebuke the devil. We did this, not once, but 
many times. By morning I had learned my lesson 
and never from that day to this have I run from the 
devil. 

When a soul wants to get deliverance, it is the 
duty and privilege of the minister to exercise heavenly 
authority. God has delegated to his New Testa- 
ment ministry all the power that they need for every 
emergency. I heard of a minister, a sister, who, 
when evil spirits were to be cast out, became so 
frightened that she ran and climbed up on the wood- 
pile. The brethren that were present, were greatly 
amused and asked her if the enemy had her treed. 
We need never fear the enemy nor give way to him 
in the least. If we keep our faith in the Master's 
promise, "behold, I give unto you .... power over 
all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by 
any means hurt you." "Greater is he that is in you 
than he that is in the world." Let us remember 
always that in our own strength we can not expel 
evil spirits, but that all our power and authority in 
such cases come from God. If we keep our faith 
steadfast, the enemy can no more overcome us than 
he can overcome God himself. 



TRIALS AND TRIUMPHS OF FAITH 183 

Chapter XV 
Various Experiences— Continued 

Sometime after I got light on the one body, I was 
helping Brothers Kilpatrick and Speck in a camp- 
meeting near Essex, 111. For three days I was 
under a severe trial or burden, which became heavier 
and heavier until it was unbearable. The worst of 
my difficulty was that I did not know what was the 
matter. 

Finally I went to my room, locked the door, threw 
myself on the bed and cried, "Lord, you must show 
me what is the matter; I can't stand this any longer." 
Then the Lord began to talk to me in a loving, 
fatherly, encouraging way: "This is a battle between 
God and the devil. Are you willing to fight in it?" 
'Yes, Lord," I said, "with all my heart"; and 
almost before I could think, the cloud was all gone, 
the burden had disappeared, and I was as happy and 
triumphant as I had ever been. I don't think I had 
another test during that meeting. 

Through this peculiar experience I learned the 
difference between soul-burden and condemnation 
and between accusation and conviction, as I had 
never been able to comprehend it before, although I 
thought I had understood this difference measurably 
well. Many dear souls have been troubled on these 
subjects, mistaking soul-burden for condemnation 
and accusation for conviction. A clear understand- 



184 TRIALS AND TRIUMPHS OF FAITH 

ing of the difference between these soul experiences 
will save us from many unnecessary trials. I have 
been thankful ever since for God's teaching. 

While in evangelistic work I had the privilege of 
attending meetings of various kinds in many different 
States. Shortly before the Gospel Trumpet office 
was moved to Moundsville, our company attended 
a camp-meeting at that place. Brother Clayton's 
earnest labors were beginning to show some results, 
but the work was still quite new. We arrived there 
the afternoon before the general meeting began. But 
little preparation had been made to accommodate 
the workers who would be present. My brother 
George had found a place to stay, but nothing had 
been said to me about lodging. Just before the be- 
ginning of the services, a woman came to me and 
asked if I would go home with her. I did not feel 
favorably impressed, and thought I would wait and 
see if I should get another invitation. The night 
services closed, and no one had yet offered me lodg- 
ing, so I accepted the woman's invitation. I had 
been kept awake two nights on my trip to the meet- 
ing, and now I had to walk a mile before retiring. 
As we drew near the house, I felt the awful powers 
of the enemy coming against my soul. I wondered 
what kind of place I was going to, but it was too 
late to turn back. Although it was ten o'clock at 
night, we met the woman's little grandchild out play- 
ing, and the child was by no means in an inviting 
condition. 



VARIOUS EXPERIENCES— CONTINUED 185 

When we reached the house I understood at once 
why I had not felt impressed to accept the woman's 
invitation. Everything was in disorder, and the 
house was almost as filthy as a swine-pen. The 
floor was covered with sand on which tobacco-juice 
was freely sprinkled, and over this filth the beds 
had been laid down. The woman had already told 
me that she had a nice clean bed for me in an un- 
stairs room, and in this I hoped to find the rest I so 
much needed. After eating, with considerable diffi- 
culty, a little lunch set before me, I was shown to 
my room, which had a more cleanly appearance than 
the room down-stairs. I wanted very much to lock 
my door; but as I could not, committed myself to 
God's care, and went to bed. 

Vermin of different kinds prevented sleep; and 
not long after going to bed I heard a noise down- 
stairs that indicated the arrival of company of no 
desirable sort. My heart began to sink within me. 
"O Lord!" said I, "why have you let me come to 
a place like this?" and the tears began to course 
down my cheeks. The answer came, 'That you 
may have an opportunity to be partaker of my suffer- 
ing." I thought to myself, "I am a poor specimen 
to fulfil that scripture tonight." I do not believe I 
slept ten minutes the whole night through. I heard 
the town-clock every time it struck; but during that 
night of anxiety and prayer I learned the lesson that 
I must be ready at all times and under all circum- 
stance, to partake of Christ's suffering, and that in 



186 TRIALS AND TRIUMPHS OF FAITH 

order to partake of his sufferings, I must be very little 
and very humble. Next morning, with veiled face, 
I made my way to the camp-ground in as round- 
a-bout way as I could, so that no one would know 
where I lodged the night before, and thus reproach 
be brought upon the cause of Christ. 

Our next camp-meeting was at Mole Hill, W. Va. 
This was a new place, and not many attended the 
services; but the Lord blessed in the presentation 
of the Word, and we had a good meeting. It closed 
on Sunday. Just before the services on Saturday 
night, an armed mob came into the camp. Never 
in all my life had I heard so many awful oaths in 
so short a time. A number of unsaved young men 
who lived in that neighborhood and who were favor- 
able to the truth, undertook to defend us and to keep 
the meeting from being broken up. The mob said 
that they had come on purpose to tear the tent down, 
but those who were defending us said that they 
should not, and that if they undertook to carry out 
their threat they would be "laid low," meaning that 
they would kill them. A number of shots were ex- 
changed between the two parties, some of which 
came very close to me. You may think it very fool- 
ish, but I found myself dodging behind the canvas 
for protection. Afterwards I was amused at myself, 
but at such a time the weakness of humanity is on 
exhibition. 

After the two parties had continued for nearly an 
hour, I think, I felt strongly impressed that a number 



VARIOUS EXPERIENCES — CONTINUED 187 

of us should kneel down and call earnestly on God 
for protection. While we were on our knees, God 
made me to know that none of us should be hurt and 
that the tabernacle should not suffer damage. I 
arose from my knees with victory. Not long after- 
ward the young men who were protecting us, got our 
assailants on the run. They left in such a hurry that 
one of their number left his hat behind. He made 
several attempts to come back after it, but our boys 
always headed him off. The strife lasted all night, 
and no one in the camp got any rest. At midnight 
a sister who for a long time had been seeking sancti- 
fication, but had not been able to get the experience, 
came to the Lord, made the consecration, was made 
happy, and began singing: 

''Halleluiah for the cleansing! 
It has reached my inmost soul, 
For the glory now is streaming; 
Praise the Lord, he makes me whole ! ' ' 

The next day was a very busy day. God worked 
mightily. Souls were saved and sanctified, and 
bodies were healed. It was a day of victory from 
beginning to end. I had asked the Lord not to let 
"a dog move his tongue" against the tent. Nothing 
about the camp was disturbed. 

Several times during my ministry the Lord has 
laid upon my heart a message to deliver, and has not 
made my burden known to the other ministers pres- 
ent. As such times, if one is not very true and faith- 



188 TRIALS AND TRIUMPHS OF FAITH 

ful to God, he is likely to be accused of the enemy 
and so prevented from doing his duty. The first 
experience of this kind that I remember, occurred at 
a camp-meeting in the State of Indiana. One Sun- 
day when a very large crowd was in attendance, a 
sectarian minister who seemed to be getting out of 
Babylon was expected to preach. The brethren 
thought it would encourage him and edify the con- 
gregation. In the afternoon I overheard some of 
the ministers encouraging him to deliver a message. 
God made me to understand that this man was not 
making the progress that he should and that he was 
not in a condition to deliver a message, especially at 
such a time. I was looking very earnestly to the 
Lord when he made me to know that he wanted me 
to deliver the message, but I knew from what I had 
heard that he had not made it known to the other 
ministers. 

This state of affairs put me in a very trying place ; 
for if I should take the pulpit, it would look as if 
I wanted to be too forward, thus hindering one who 
might have the message. The conviction on my 
heart was so great, however, and God's hand so 
heavy upon me for this duty, that I got up; but as 
I was stepping into the pulpit, I saw the sectarian 
minister with his Bible in his hand just ready to 
rise to his feet. "Oh, pardon me," said I. "No, you 
pardon me; go ahead," he replied. "No, you go 
ahead." "Oh, my message won't spoil." "Mine 
won't either," I replied. Then he again insisted 



VARIOUS EXPERIENCES — CONTINUED 189 

upon my going ahead; and as I knew God was 
ordering it, I delivered the message and God won- 
derfully blessed my soul. 

Not until the evening service did the other minis- 
ters realize that God was putting me forward to 
deliver the message. That night when there were 
not more than one-third as many present as there 
were in the afternoon, the minister of whom I have 
been speaking, rose to preach. His sermon was noth- 
ing but a message from the devil. God's ministers 
were disgusted. Mother Sarah Smith, who sat right 
in front of the pulpit and who always encouraged 
the ministers and held up their hands with her 
"Amen! Praise the Lord!" began in her usual way. 
I said to myself, "If I have not misunderstood the 
voice of God, her amens will stop and her head will 
go down before this message is ended." It was not 
long until her amens ceased. Before the sermon was 
ended, some of the ministers were pacing the grounds 
in agony because the enemy was filling the pulpit, 
and some of the sinners felt like taking the ministers 
out and giving them a threshing because they had 
permitted such a thing. 

It was over at last. Brother Warner came to me 
and said: "Sister Cole, I can see now why God had 
you take the pulpit in the afternoon when the largest 
crowd was present. There would have been much 
more harm done, had he preached then instead of 
tonight." This experience emphasized to me the 
fact that it pays to obey God, First, be sure that 



190 TRIALS AND TRIUMPHS OF FAITH 

God is ordering your steps, and then be true to God. 
He will stand by you though you have to go through 
fire to do his bidding. 

At a camp-meeting in Michigan God made it 
clear to my soul that at the evening service he wanted 
me to deliver a message especially for the benefit of 
backsliders. The burden upon me was so great that 
I could hardly sit still until time for preaching. In 
the prayer just before the sermon, the brother who 
led made it very clear that he was sure God was 
going to have him deliver the message that night. I 
sympathized with him, of course, and did not want 
him to have any unnecessary trial ; neither did I want 
to disobey God. 

I submitted the matter to the Lord, telling him 
that if he still wanted me to deliver the message, 
to hold the brother back until it would not appear 
that I was trying to get ahead of him. God won- 
derfully owned and blessed his Word, and a number 
of backsliders were reclaimed. After the service, 
the brother who had thought he had the message 
came to me and said, "Sister Cole, I did think I 
had the message, but the Lord blessed you.*' 'Yes," 
I said, "the Lord blessed me in obeying; but it took 
more grace than usual." 

At a Kansas camp-meeting there was a man pres- 
ent who had not been living a consistent Christian 
life. He had done things that disqualified him for 
preaching. I told the Lord that I would do any- 
thing he showed me in order to keep the pulpit clean. 



VARIOUS FXPERIENCES — CONTINUED 191 

As is usual at such gatherings, the largest crowd 
was present on Sunday afternoon. I saw the min- 
ister of whom I had just spoken, getting ready to 
take the pulpit. It came to my mind that if I wanted 
to obey the Lord and to keep my promise I must act 
quickly. I asked the Lord to exercise his control 
and to give me the needed opportunity to obey. He 
did, and I preached the sermon that day. Very 
soon afterward an accident occurred in which this 
minister's false teeth were broken, so that he could 
not preach during the remainder of the meeting. 
Thus God's cause was protected. 

To obey the Lord under the circumstances of 
which I have just been speaking, takes much grace, 
especially on the part of the minister who knows the 
proper attitude toward his fellow ministers and de- 
sires to show them courtesy. At different times when 
I have felt led to move out and deliver a message, 
others have got ahead of me so that I did not have an 
opportunity at that time. Frequently under such 
circumstances God has opened the way for me to 
deliver the message later and has made it more effec- 
tual than it would have been had I delivered it when 
I first desired to do so. Now, I would not advise 
workers or ministers to make unusual efforts to get 
into the pulpit, unless they knew beyond a doubt 
that God is ordering. But if you are certain of the 
leadings of the Lord, even if God does not make it 
plain to others, you may do as God bids you with 
certainty of success. 



192 TRIALS AND TRIUMPHS OF FAITH 

In a certain meeting I had the message, but an- 
other minister took the pulpit so quickly that I had 
no chance to deliver it. At the close of the service, 
a number of persons came to me saying, "Sister 
Cole, you had the message.'* 'Yes," I answered, "I 
felt sure I did, but I had no chance to deliver it." 
"Well, maybe God will give you a chance to de- 
liver it yet." "I think he will if he wants it de- 
livered," I replied, "and perhaps when I do have an 
opportunity, the message will be stronger — boiled 
down, as it were." The opportunity came the fol- 
lowing day. At that time there were present in the 
meeting a minister and some of his congregation who 
had gotten out of the way. God so blessed the de- 
livery of the Word that not only the minister but 
also a number from his congregation got delivered. 

Isaiah's prophecy that the blind eyes should be 
opened, was fulfilled during the time of Jesus* earthly 
ministry, and it is being fulfilled today. I have been 
a witness to a number of such healings, of which I 
will relate three. 

While my brother George and I were holding a 
meeting in Nebraska, a lady, accompanied by her 
husband, came a number of miles to be healed of 
blindness. She was not a saint, nor do I think that 
she had even been professing. Be that as it may, 
she had heard that the Lord was healing people. She 
was so nearly blind that she could not see to sew or 
read, and could scarcely do her housework at all 
At first we talked to her about her soul, and she ex- 



VARIOUS EXPERIENCES — CONTINUED 193 

pressed a desire to get right with God. When asked 
whether she would rather have salvation or healing, 
she chose salvation first. We all bowed before the 
Lord, and asked him to save her soul. She got the 
witness that she was saved. Although we did not 
make her healing a special subject of prayer, yet we 
asked God to do for her eyes all that he saw fit. 

The following day she went home, and not long 
afterward we heard that she was much better. After 
another brief interval of time we heard that her eyes 
were well and that she could read and sew just as 
she did before they became afflicted. Her friends who 
brought her to the meeting for healing were very 
much tried when we instructed her to seek salvation 
before healing. They thought that she would be 
discouraged because we did not make a specialty of 
her healing. After all, it turned out all right, thus 
showing that God's way is best. 

A brother, an old man, came to an Oklahoma 
camp-meeting for prayer. He had been a sinner 
from childhood, and at the time of which I write, 
had been saved but little more than a year. A 
number of us anointed him and asked God to heal 
him of rheumatism and of everything else that he saw 
fit. One of the brother's eyes was in such bad condi- 
tion that with it he could not distinguish a person 
from other objects. Soon after prayer was offered, 
he said the diseased eye had been fully restored. 

One of the workers in the Chicago Home began 
to go blind in one of her eyes. The sight kept fail- 



194 TRIALS AND TRIUMPHS OF FAITH 

ing until it was entirely lost. We had prayer, 
claimed the healing on the authority of God's Word, 
and did not doubt, although the sight was not re- 
stored immediately. For two months she could tell 
but very little difference in the condition of her eye; 
but during this time, she held steadily on to God's 
promise and did not doubt him. At last God saw 
fit to give her the desire of her heart. Her faith was 
realized and her sight was restored. 



TRIALS AND TRIUMPHS OF FAITH 195 

Chapter XVI 
God's Care Over Me 

A number of times during my life I have been 
exposed to danger, but have always realized God's 
protecting hand. The incidents which I shall now 
relate, show God's goodness and tender care for 
me. Truly he is a present help in every time of need, 
and powerful to deliver under all circumstances. 

One time while I was still in the old home at 
Windsor, Mo., I was alone in the house. My par- 
ents had gone on a visit about twenty miles away, 
and two of my younger brothers were somewhere 
about the farm. I was in the room before the old- 
fashioned fireplace. Some embers had dropped out 
on the hearth, and ashes had settled over them, 
entirely hiding them from view. Presently I knelt 
on the hearth before the fire and began earnestly 
calling on God, my calico dress resting on the covered . 
embers on the hearth. Being entirely absorbed in 
my devotion, I did not know that there was any 
danger until the flames were going up my back. I 
rushed to the door, calling loudly for help, in the 
hope that some one would hear me and come to my 
assistance. My next thought was to run to the 
kitchen, get some water, and throw it on the fire ; but 
the thought flashed through my mind that if I should 
run through the hall, the fire would get such a head- 
way that it would burn me to death. So I called on 



196 TRIALS AND TRIUMPHS OF FAITH 

God earnestly: "O Lord, why is it that I am left 
here to burn to death alone?" With all my soul, I 
threw myself on his mercy. Like a good, loving, 
heavenly Father, he brought it to my mind to go to 
the closed door and press my back tightly against it 
until the flames were smothered. Although my 
clothes were nearly burned from my back, yet I 
escaped without the slightest injury. Truly God 
proved himself to be my wisdom and my deliverer. 

While we were attending a meeting at Sturgeon, 
Mo., I was a guest at a farm-house two or three miles 
from the town. I had no way of returning to town 
the next day, except to ride in on horseback. Be- 
cause of my illness in early life, I had never learned 
to ride on horseback. My parents would never let 
me try, for fear that I should have a fit, fall from the 
horse, and be killed. At the place where I was 
staying, only two horses could be spared from the 
work on the farm — one gentle animal, too old to work 
( on the farm, the other a fractious colt not sufficiently 
broken to be safe for a woman to ride. In fact, the 
young horse had thrown the young woman of the 
household a number of times. 

There were three of us to go to town on these two 
horses — 'two other young women and I. The old 
lady had asked me if I was used to riding, and upon 
hearing that I was not, she said I should ride the old 
horse. After waiting on the Lord earnestly, how- 
ever, I felt strongly impressed to ride the young, 
unbroken animal, trusting myself in God's hands. 



god's care over me 197 

The Lord had assured me that he would take care 
of me. The old lady did not want me to ride the 
colt and seemed to think that I was somewhat ob- 
stinate in my decision. Finally, however, she con- 
sented. 

The girls who went with me were young and 
mischievous, and when they saw that I did not know 
how to ride and was very awkward, they began to 
enjoy my predicament and whipped up their horse 
just to have fun at my expense. I felt very awkward 
and scarcely knew how to keep my seat in the saddle. 
On the way to town the girls asked me if I expected 
to return to the farm that evening . I said that I did 
not, to which they replied that they were glad be- 
cause they wanted a horse apiece coming back, so 
that they could have a race. There had been a 
heavy rainfall, and in front of the blacksmith shop 
at the edge of town was a large mud-puddle in which 
a hog was wallowing as we came up. Disturbed at 
our approach, the big animal arose from the puddle, 
splashing mud and water, and making considerable 
noise. The gentle horse on which the girls were 
riding became frightened, jumped to one side, and 
both girls fell off into the mud. The horse on which 
I was riding was scarcely frightened at all. He just 
made a slight movement that loosened my foot from 
the stirrup. Some one came to my assistance until 
I could get down. I realized that God had pro- 
tected me. 

One time not long after this a brother was taking 



198 TRIALS AND TRIUMPHS OF FAITH 

me somewhere on a mule. It suddenly came to my 
mind that I had not trusted God for protection and 
that I must do so at once as danger was near at 
hand. In less than five minutes, as we were going 
through a bit of timber, the mule got scared and be- 
gan to rear up. Then he tried his best to run with 
me through the timber. If he had succeeded, no 
doubt my brains would have been knocked out 
against a tree. Again an unseen hand seemed to 
help me, and although the mule kept rearing up and 
trying to get away, I was uninjured. 

At a few other times in my life God has marvel- 
ously protected me under similar circumstances. Once 
the mule on which I was riding became frightened 
and threw me off. For some time I lay senseless on 
the ground, but the mule stood still, not moving out 
of its tracks until I recovered consciousness and 
crawled away. God answered my prayer, and I 
was soon all right again. At another time I fell 
off a horse backwards on my head. A brother and 
sister who were with me thought that they heard my 
neck break, but the Lord marvelously protected me, 
and I was almost as well as usual by evening. At 
still another time my horse slipped, and I fell off, 
got caught in the saddle, and was dragged some 
little distance. At first I called for help, but the 
sister with me was so frightened that she could not 
come to my rescue, so I called on God very earnestly, 
and he helped me out of the dangerous position with- 
out any hurt. 



god's care over me 199 

Before my brother and I began our work in 
Chicago, while passing through that city with Brother 
Kilpatrick and his company, we stopped over to 
visit Lincoln Park. When the street-car was near 
the edge of the park, one of the company jumped 
off, saying, "This is Lincoln Park." I had ridden 
so little on the street-cars that I did not know the 
danger of getting on or off while the cars were mov- 
ing, so I jumped too, thinking that if I did not I 
should not get to see the park. As I jumped, I kept 
hold of the car and in consequence was dragged 
about one hundred yards. When the conductor got 
his car stopped, he gave me a cursing for being so 
foolish, but he little realized how ignorant I was. 
Some of our company were almost sick with fright, 
thinking that I was killed, but God in his mercy pro- 
tected me and did not allow me to suffer serious 
injury. 

After we had begun work in the city of Chicago, 
we went one day out to a little town called Naper- 
ville to visit some saints and to hold a meeting. When 
we came to the depot to start back, my brother found 
that he had left his Testament at the house where 
we had been staying, and he went back after it. 
There was a little suburban station just a short dis- 
tance from the depot, and the train ran between the 
two. Our baggage was at the suburban station. I 
saw the train coming and, supposing of course that 
it would stop, I went across to the little station to 
protect our things. The train was a lightning ex- 



200 TRIALS AND TRIUMPHS OF FAITH 

press which did not stop at that station, and the man 
in charge of the crossing, seeing my danger, began 
to yell at me to come back. I was too far across to 
return, and his yelling came near confusing me, so 
I merely made my escape. The express was not 
more than a foot away as I stepped off the track. 

At different times God has protected me from con- 
tageous diseases. While my oldest brother and I 
were out together in the work, he took the measles. 
I nursed him during his illness, and others were sure 
I was taking them. They thought they saw them 
coming out under my skin, but I was trusting God 
the best I knew how. Some of the incidents that 
occurred about this time were rather amusing. About 
the time I should have been coming down with the 
measles, Mother Bolds and I attended a meeting 
in Carthage, Mo. It was a dark night, and we had 
to cross a little ravine. We lost our way, got into the 
water, and got drenched. But no bad results came 
of our wetting, as I was not taking the measles at all. 
God had protected me. 

I had my next experience of this kind at Cornell, 
Nebr., when I took care of my brother George dur- 
ing his sickness with the measles. George was very 
sick. Often after giving him food or water I would 
find myself tasting of what was left. Then I would 
think, "I do not want to tempt God; what shall I 
do? It certainly seems I must have the affliction 
after being so thoughtless." But I thought of this 
scripture: "If they drink any deadly thing, it shall 



god's care over me 201 

not hurt them." I asked the Lord to verify that 
promise to me. 

On two different nights, however, for about two 
hours each time, the devil seemed to come and try to 
impose the disease on me. It seemed that I could 
hear him say, "I will give you the measles; I will 
give you the measles." "No, you will not," I would 
say in reply. "I will not have them unless God 
wants me to have them. You are not going to give 
them to me." I knew it was Satan that was trying 
to push the disease on me. The second night it 
seemed as though I could resist the devil no longer, 
and I said, "If I do not get help, I can not stand any 
more." Then the Lord appeared and let me know 
that I should not be tried any more, and this scrip- 
ture was fulfilled: "God is faithful, who will not 
suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able ; but 
will with the temptation also make a way to escape." 
The enemy disappeared and I did not take the mea- 
sles. 

While in San Diego, Cal., a brother took George 
and me over the bay to Cornado Island. Before 
we started, God impressed me that there was danger 
ahead and that I should pray earnestly for pro- 
tection. Thinking that I should not have time before 
starting, I prayed as I went. Upon reaching the 
island the brother went to moor the boat, and George 
called to him, "Are you not afraid to fasten your 
boat so near to the waves from the main ocean?" 
He answered that he thought there was no danger. 



202 TRIALS AND TRIUMPHS OF FAITH 

We spent a very pleasant day on the island and 
enjoyed the ocean air. When it came time for us 
to go home, I found that in walking around I had 
lost my scarf. The brother who was with us said 
he thought he knew where it was. He told my 
brother to hold the oars while he went to get the 
missing article. On his return George went to pass 
him the oars, but in some way one of them fell into 
the water. Just then the large waves began to roll 
in from the. open sea and to fill our little boat. It 
looked as though death was staring us in the face. 
My brother saw that he could escape; but as he 
thought that probably the boatman and I would both 
be drowned, he stayed with us and did all he could 
to help get the oar. The boat was full of water. 
We were all drenched and sat there in the water 
until we got back to the mainland about four miles 
away. 

Although I did not drown, yet probably the wet- 
ting would have caused my death had God not an- 
swered prayer. How good the Lord was and what 
a lesson I got ! When God impresses us with danger, 
it is time to lay it to heart and to pray until we know 
that God has given us the protection we need. 

Another incident of this kind occurred in Cali- 
fornia while we were visiting a place known as the 
Inner Cave. When the tide was out, people could 
walk round in this cave and enjoy the scenery; but 
when the tide was in, the cave was filled with water. 
We supposed that we knew the time when the tide 



god's care over me 203 

came into the cave, but we had been misinformed. 
When we got out into the open air again, it was 
within five minutes of the time for the return of the 
tide. Had we remained much longer, we should 
all have been drowned. 

God has certainly been very merciful to me. Many 
times has he warned me before meeting with some 
threatened danger, and always he has protected me 
from serious harm, 



204 TRIALS AND TRIUMPHS OF FAITH 

Chapter XVII 
My California Trip 

For some time a brother in California had been 
insisting very strongly on our coming to that State 
to hold meetings. His letters were full of glowing 
accounts of the beautiful climate and the fine fruit, 
he thinking that would be an attraction to us. These 
attractions had no influence upon us. My brother 
George, Lodema Kaser, and I, who were then to- 
gether holding a meeting, felt so strongly impressed 
of the Lord to accept the brother's invitation that we 
all thought we should go in a week or two. While 
in earnest prayer, however, God made it clear to 
me that my mother would need me at home in the 
near future and that we were not to go to California 
until a year from the following fall. 

During the winter of the year in which we first 
felt impressed to go to California, mother got ery- 
sipelas in the face. At that time my brother and I 
were out in the work, and my unsaved brother put 
her in the hands of physicians. While we were 
holding meetings in Oklahoma, we received a tele- 
gram that she was very low, and started for home. 
At Wichita, Kans., we telegraphed asking if she was 
still alive. We got the answer, "Yes, but the doctors 
say she can't live twelve hours." Up to this time 
I had the assurance that God would heal her, but 
when I got the doctor's word, I, like Peter, began 



MY CALIFORNIA TRIP 205 

looking at the waves and concluded that Mother 
would die. When I got home, however, and had 
to trust God, I felt ashamed of myself and decided 
that I would never again put a doctor's word ahead 
of God's promises. God spared her life, but the 
medicine had so reduced her strength that George 
and I had to stay at home and nurse her for two 
months. 

About two weeks before we were ready to start 
for California, I saw in a dream a brother coming to 
give me twenty dollars to help pay my way to Cali- 
fornia. He said that he had wanted to use the money 
in some other way, but that God had shown him to 
use it for pushing his work in southern California. 
The dream came true in all its details. 

Finally our preparations were completed and in 
November, more than a year after we first felt im- 
pressed to go to California, we took train at Newton, 
Kans. There were seven in our company, Brother 
and Sister Dansberger, Brother and Sister Gates, 
Sister Lodema Kaser, and my brother George and I. 
As we had been brought up in a comparatively level 
country and had never seen any mountains, the trip 
was to me a source of wonder and delight. After 
three days' travel, we reached San Diego and 
stepped off our train into a land of flowers. Roses 
were in bloom, geraniums formed a fence around 
some of the buildings, all nature was in the height of 
its beauty. We arrived on November 15, just fif- 
teen years to a day from the time I was healed, and 



206 TRIALS AND TRIUMPHS OF FAITH 

exactly five years from the time J. W. Byers reached 
the Pacific Coast. The contrast between California 
and the place from which we had come was very 
marked at this time of the year. 

A house in San Diego was given us free of rent 
and an abundant supply of provisions was brought 
in by the brethren. Figs were very plentiful in that 
part of California, and our company enjoyed them 
very much. If I remember correctly, they bore three 
crops a year. I learned quite a lesson from the 
nature of this fruit. Fig-trees do not bloom like 
most other fruit-trees, but the fig itself pushes out at 
the end of the twig, just as the leaves begin on a 
hickory-tree. The tree has no flowers, or bloom. 
I was told that as the fig grew and ripened it had all 
the appearance of a bloom. A careful examination 
proved this statement to be true. The inside of the 
fig looks like the petals of a beautiful flower. To 
my mind, this beautifully illustrates the Christian who 
wears all the blossoms on the inside, and it is not only 
blossom, but genuine fruit, after all. 

I learned another lesson by the ocean-tide. Cer- 
tainly God's handiwork is displayed in large bodies 
of water. I could sit and behold his beauty and 
grandeur hour after hour and never grow tired. In 
fact, it seemed that I could see the hand of God, 
traces of his wonderful works and creation, until I 
was awed into silence and felt like saying as Job did 
of old, "When the Almighty speaks, I will put my 
hand on my mouth." The lesson I learned was this: 



MY CALIFORNIA TRIP 207 

When the tide is out, the rocks along the shore, 
covered with seaweed and moss, present an un- 
sightly appearance; but when the tide comes in, 
these unsightly things are all covered with water, 
which present the appearance of a sea of glass. When 
the grace of God is low in our soul, the unseemly 
parts of human nature are on exhibition; but when 
the grace of God floods the soul, then Christ is on 
exhibition and the unseemly parts are hidden away. 

Another lesson that might be drawn is this: The 
coming in of the tide might be compared to the trials 
and the tests that flood our souls, and the going out 
of the tide to the subsiding of the trials, which, like 
the going out of the tide, leaves behind pearls and 
shells and other beautiful things. The beauties of 
the Christian life are brought to view by the waves 
of trial that sweep over the souls. 

We went out into the country, visited the saints, 
and enjoyed the orange-groves for about two weeks. 
In the ocean we saw God's hand exhibited in might 
and power. Here we saw God's hand none the less, 
although exhibited in gentleness and beneficence. The 
orange-trees were a beautiful sight. They were 
loaded with fruit in various stages of development. 
On the very same tree there would be blossoms and 
oranges ranging in size from the small green ones to 
the large ripe ones. 

Once while we were near the ocean, we thought 
it a good opportunity to visit the man-of-war that 
was stationed about half a mile out from the shore. 



208 TRIALS AND TRIUMPHS OF FAITH 

We went out to it in a little sail-boat. As we were 
passing under a pier, the oarsman dropped one of 
his oars in the water and regained possession of it 
only with a great deal of difficulty. One of our 
party, a sister, becoming greatly frightened because 
of our danger, took hold of one of the pier-posts and 
held to it with all her might. In the meantime the 
brother had gotten hold of his oar and was trying to 
make the boat move. He soon saw that there was 
some hindrance, and, looking around, found the 
sister holding to the pier-post. When asked why she 
was doing that, she answered, "I am afraid we shall 
drown." "Woman," he said, "if you will not let 
go of that post, you will drown every one of us." 
I have often thought how much like this sister some 
Christians act. They are afraid they will be over- 
whelmed, but they hold to something on the shore, to 
the pier-post of the world or of their own ideas, 
which makes it impossible for them to get out where 
it is smooth sailing. Some of these, however, are 
sincere and honest in heart, finally wake up to what 
they are doing, say that they have Christ as their 
pilot, take their hands off, and get out on the open 
sea of life where the waters are calmed by the Spirit 
of the Lord. 

While we were in San Diego there came to us a 
woman in destitute circumstances. She and her 
husband had recently come from another part of the 
country and had not yet succeeded in finding work. 
They were almost at the point of starvation, and so 



MY CALIFORNIA TRIP 209 

she came to us to borrow some money. The woman 
herself professed salvation, but I think knew but lit- 
tle of the truth. Her husband was a sinner. She 
told us that her husband was out of work and that 
although he was unsaved he would not eat anything 
for breakfast that morning for fear there would not 
be enough left to keep his children from starving 
until he could get work. We were much moved by 
the compassion he had shown for his little ones, and 
thought how much more compassion our Heavenly 
Father has for his children. The Word says, "Like 
as a father pitieth his children, so the Lord pitieth 
them that fear him." We felt led to divide the flour, 
meat, fruit, and butter we had on hands. Before 
the day was over, there was brought to us from the 
country ten miles away more provisions than we had 
given away. The destitute family had enough to 
live on until the husband got work, which was only a 
few days later. "Give, and it shall be given unto 
you; good measure pressed down, and shaken to- 
gether, and running over." 

It has been said that every false doctrine that 
starts from the eastern part of the United States has 
a through ticket to the Pacific Coast. We could 
readily believe this statement. California seemed to 
be a hot-bed of false doctrine. It was difficult to 
get any truth to the people or to get them free from 
the false doctrines of which they had partaken. 

From San Diego we went to Los Angeles, where 
we lived in a tent and held meetings in a large taber- 



210 TRIALS AND TRIUMPHS OF FAITH 

nacle, with fairly good crowds. The gospel message 
was not without effect, but we found the people so 
filled with false doctrine that it was almost impossible 
to get the truth to them. Even the brother who was 
so anxious for us to come to California was scatter- 
ing false doctrine wherever he went. Among other 
things, he opposed women's preaching. God put 
us on his trail and kept us after him until the enemy 
was thoroughly rebuked, and he humbled himself 
and asked forgiveness. 

While in this place, most of our little company 
was under arrest for about three hours for preaching 
on the street. Some one had reported us to the 
police and had misrepresented what we were doing. 
Some of our company enjoyed being under arrest 
very much, feeling that they had a foretaste of a 
martyr's experience. When they were released, 
they came back to the tent rejoicing and praising 
God that they were counted worthy to suffer for 
Jesus' sake. This did not end our street-meetings; 
many more were held during our stay in California. 

During our stay at Los Angeles, a blacksmith, a 
brother in the church, while shoeing a horse, got a 
severe kick in the head. His condition seemed very 
serious. He came to the tent before meeting began 
and requested prayer, saying that after prayer he 
would return to his tent, as he was feeling pretty bad. 
God wonderfully answered prayer and healed him 
so that he was able to sit up during the meeting. 
About three days later one of our company was in 



MY CALIFORNIA TRIP 21 1 

his shop and asked him how he was getting along. 
The reply was that his head was all right, but that 
a little wound on his hand unnoticed before was giv- 
ing him some trouble. "But," he added, "I thank 
the Lord that it is no worse." The brother replied, 
"Can't you thank the Lord that it is as it is?" The 
blacksmith stood thoughtful for a moment and then 
said, "Yes; why shouldn't I thank the Lord that it 
is just as it is?" The words had scarcely left his 
mouth before the healing power of God came and 
made his hand perfectly well. 

Many other incidents occurred while we were 
there that space will not permit me to mention here. 
We remained a little over three months, doing some 
work in the country, although we were out of town 
only a few days. At the close of the meeting we 
moved to Alameda, one of the suburbs of San Fran- 
cisco. The town at that time covered considerable 
ground, but had very few large buildings in it. At 
this place also we lived in a tent as before and held 
meetings in a large tabernacle. Services were held 
almost every night, and much precious seed was 
sown. 

One day a sister called on us: She said: "Your 
brother said in his sermon a few nights since that we 
should bear one another's burdens. How can we do 
this if we do not open our hearts to others and tell 
what our burdens are? Do you think it would be all 
right for me to open my heart to you and tell you my 
burden?" "Certainly," I answered, "if your soul 



212 TRIALS AND TRIUMPHS OF FAITH 

is burdened." "I have," said she, "a heavy burden 
to carry. Now, my husband no longer loves me, but 
he has given all his affections to my sister. They 
are likely to elope at any time, and my heart is 
broken. In fact, the grief and trouble I have en- 
dured have brought on heart- trouble." As she fin- 
ished her story, we asked, "Is there anything we can 
do? We should be glad to do anything to help 
you bear your burden. Do you think it would be a 
good idea to have a day of fasting and prayer?" 
'Yes," said she, "I think it would do good." We 
told her to set the day, and she chose the next Fri- 
day. On that day we all fasted and prayed, es- 
pecially for this man. It was not over two weeks 
before God got hold of his heart and gloriously 
saved him. A happier person than this sister I do 
not think you could have found. It seemed that she 
could not cease praising God and thanking us. 

In order to defray the expenses at home, she 
raised poultry for the market. To show her grati- 
tude to us, she brought chickens, eggs, and other 
things for our use until we were afraid she was 
really robbing herself. She fairly loaded us with 
good things, and when we called her attention to 
how generously she was supplying our needs and 
told her we were afraid she was doing too much, she 
would say, "Oh, no ; I never can repay you for what 
you have done for my family." We would say, 
"Do not try too hard to repay us, as it was God who 
did the work for you." I heard of the man not 



MY CALIFORNIA TRIP 2 1 3 

many years ago, and was still sweetly saved. 

In our company were Brother and Sister Gates 
and their three children, who had come with us from 
Kansas. Not only had Brother and Sister Gates 
helped us financially, but they had been as a father 
and mother to us all. They were now about to 
leave us, and they seemed somewhat burdened lest 
we should suffer need, as the people had not yet 
been supplying our needs very much. Of course, the 
reason why God had not been supplying us other- 
wise up to this time was not hard to find. The 
Lord knew that they were supplying our need and 
that we required no additional help from others. 

Before leaving us, the sister said, "What are you 
going to do after we are gone?" I answered: "The 
Lord has always been a present help in time of 
need. You and Brother Gates have been very help- 
ful to us, for which we are thankful ; but, sister, you 
must remember that is was God working through 
you. If God had not been blessing your souls, doubt- 
less we should not have received special help from 
you. So, after all, the help you gave us came from 
God. I am sure when you are gone the Lord will 
not forsake us." 

It seemed, however, that the Lord wanted to en- 
courage them before their departure by beginning to 
manifest his care for us. A baker, a stranger to us, 
came one morning before we were up and left half a 
dozen loaves of nice bread on the table in one of our 
tents that we used as a kitchen. The next day 



214 TRIALS AND TRIUMPHS OF FAITH 

Sister Gates said, "Well, you have some nice bread." 
The following day the same number of loaves were 
left and the sister remarked, "I think I shall accept 
some of that bread to take on our journey, and I 
won't have to bake as I expected." Again, the 
third morning the usual number of loaves were left 
in our tent, and Sister Gates remarked: "I wish we 
knew who that man is, so that we could tell him to 
stop bringing bread. You will soon have more 
bread on hands than you will know what to do 
with." I answered, "God wants to show you how 
he will take care of us after you are gone." When 
we found out who the baker was, we asked him to 
leave a smaller amount of bread for us, as our com- 
pany was not so large as it had been. He con- 
tinued, however, to bring us bread, also buns, cookies, 
and cake, all of which were very much appreciated. 
His donations continued during most of the time we 
were at this place. 

One of our company dropped a tract at a house 
near the outskirts of the city. This tract was the 
means of the salvation of the woman who found it. 
Her husband, who was a dairyman and sold milk 
in a certain part of the city, told my brother if he 
would come to a certain place which he passed daily, 
he could have three pints of milk every day. Two 
or three days before Brother and Sister Gates left 
us, provisions of all kinds — fruit, meat, and even 
baked goods — came pouring in. We had already 
decided that, as Brother and Sister Gates were soon 



MY CALIFORNIA TRIP 215 

going to leave us, our company would all take their 
dinner together on Sunday. Our table was loaded 
down. The meal looked more like a wedding- 
dinner than the meal of a few humble traveling 
preachers. When Brother and Sister Gates saw 
how bountifully God had provided for us, they were 
delighted and satisfied. 

A sister who had come to us shortly after our 
arrival at Alameda told us that we had to be very 
careful and economical with the provisions, be- 
cause we should not be so bountifully supplied here 
as we had been at San Diego and Los Angeles, be- 
cause at those other places the church had been 
taught to give. 'There are but few saints here," she 
said, "and they do not know their duty, so we need 
not expect large contributions." We replied, "Even 
if they do not know their duty, God is just the same, 
and they that trust him shall not be confounded." 
I do not know that we were better supplied at any 
other place in the State. 

During our stay at Alameda, we went over to 
San Francisco and sat on the porch of the Cliff 
House overlooking the sea and watched the herds 
of seals that were playing on a little island out in the 
ocean about a quarter of a mile. They acted like 
a party of mischievous children. One of the animals 
would throw another into the ocean, and the one in 
the water would come up dripping. As we watched 
them, we could imagine that they entered into the 
fun of the sport and really felt mischievous. 



216 TRIALS AND TRIUMPHS OF FAITH 

At Fresno, the next place in our itinerary, a 
widow provided us with a furnished house, rent free, 
with fruit in the cellar and everything needed to 
make us comfortable. We remembered at this time 
that Elijah was provided for by a widow. 

In one part of the house was a woman tenant 
who soon proved to be our enemy and tried to 
persecute us. While we were having worship, she 
would make fun of us and disturb us in every way 
she could. We made up our minds we would obey 
the Lord in "putting coals of fire on her head." We 
sought every opportunity to show little kindnesses. 
At first our efforts were all in vain; she spurned every 
advance we made. Finally, she took sick, and we 
went in and asked the privilege of helping her. At 
first she rejected, but finally consented, and we went 
to work to prepare her food and to do whatever else 
was necessary to make her comfortable. Our kind- 
ness reached her heart. After she recovered, she 
showed some signs of gratitude, and we improved 
every opportunity to accomplish our design of over- 
coming evil with good. At last she was won to the 
truth, sought the Lord, found him precious to her 
soul, and was ever after our firm friend. It was 
only about three years ago, I think, that she sent me 
one dollar in a letter. 

The people in Fresno had heard but little of the 
present truth. There was one brother living in the 
town, however, who had done a little house-to-house 
work, lending books, visiting the sick, etc. Among 



MY CALIFORNIA TRIP 217 

others, he had made the acquaintance of two aged 
sisters, one of whom was a habitual user of morphine. 
She was a doctor's widow and had acquired the 
habit by taking morphine as a remedy shortly after 
their marriage. As these old ladies talked with the 
brother (Martin) and as they learned of what the 
Lord had done for the souls and bodies of different 
people, there was awakened in their hearts a desire 
to trust the Lord for deliverance. 

One day a sister of our company and I had 
planned to do some calling. At this time we were 
in need of such provisions as butter, milk, eggs, etc. 
The sister thought, therefore, that we had better go 
to a sister who we felt sure would help us in our 
time of need. I felt more inclined to go and see 
the woman who was addicted to the morphine-habit, 
and accordingly we turned our steps in that direc- 
tion. The two old ladies were much pleased to 
have us come, and the one who was bound by the 
morphine-habit desired very much to be delivered. 
Before we left, they wanted to know if we had a 
cow. We told them no, and without our asking they 
supplied us with all the milk, butter, eggs, and butter- 
milk we needed. 

As we left, they requested that we should come 
back and pray for the sister's deliverance. Their 
brother also came after me the following Monday 
morning to go and have prayer for her. For nearly 
forty years she had been addicted to the morphine- 



218 TRIALS AND TRIUMPHS OF FAITH 

habit and had been given up by the doctors who 
had treated her. Four or five years before this, spots 
such as usually come on the skin of those who have 
long been users of morphine, appeared on her skin, 
showing that she was beyond the reach of medical 
skill. I went there, prayed for her, but felt that her 
case was so serious that there would be a prolonged 
fight, so I returned and sent Sister Kaser. She re- 
mained at the house for twelve days. For three or 
four days it was a life and death fight. Then the 
old lady began to come out from under the influence 
of the drug, to throw off the effects, and in twelve 
days she was like another person. Things that she 
ate began to taste natural, and her health improved. 
God had wrought a perfect deliverance. 

It was during our stay at this place that we had 
the privilege of visiting the park in which are the 
giant redwoods of California. For thirty miles on 
the trip we went in a carriage, and then we took a 
large mountain-wagon drawn by two pair of horses. 
As we ascended the mountain to the park, we passed 
through vegetation in various conditions. At Fresno, 
where we began our journey, no rain falls and veg- 
etation grows only by means of irrigation. As we 
ascended, we came first to where there was a small 
amount of moisture, and the grass was just beginning 
to make its appearance. As we got further up the 
mountain, the vegetation was more abundant and 
flowers were growing here and there. The further 
we went the greener was the foliage, the stronger 



MY CALIFORNIA TRIP 2 1 9 

the growth, and when we reached the height we 
were in a grove of giant trees. 

Just before reaching the park we were threatened 
with a danger that we least expected. During the 
summer, government troops camped in the park, and 
as we came up the narrow road, we met the army- 
wagons coming toward us. The road was so narrow, 
with the sheer side of the mountain rising on one side 
and a precipice on the other, that to pass these 
wagons was impossible. We had to wait until the 
government-wagons passed before resuming our trip. 

When we approached the grove of redwoods, the 
stumps looked so large that I supposed the trees 
would be larger than they really were and hence I 
was quite disappointed in their size. My disap- 
pointment, of course, was due to the effect on my 
senses, for the trees were really immense. I walked 
through a hollow log through which a lady had rid- 
den on horseback some time before. Later, I stood on 
top of this log and it seemed as if I were standing on 
top of a house. The largest tree we measured was 
1 03 feet in circumference at its base. The name of 
this monster was General Washington. People had 
climbed far up its sides and carved their names. In 
order to get a good idea of the height of these great 
trees, one has to lie on the ground near the base and 
look up. Through the roots of one tree that was 
visited, a beautiful spring of ice-cold water bubbled 
up. The spring came up through a decayed open- 
ing in the root of the tree. 



220 TRIALS AND TRIUMPHS OF FAITH 

California is much different from the Eastern 
States. In the low lands of California there is no 
lightning nor thunder. The rain comes so gently 
that sometimes one has to look out-of-doors to see 
whether or not it is raining. But in the mountains 
the thunder and lightning are very sharp. Then, 
too, the difference in temperature between the low- 
lands and the highlands seems remarkable. At 
Fresno the thermometer registered 109 after sun- 
down, while on the mountain the temperature was 
only 60. In California the vegetable growth differs 
greatly from that in the East. In the East our com- 
mon elders die every other year; in California they 
grow to be as large around as a man's body. In the 
East the castor-bean is an annual ; in California it is a 
tree, many of them larger than a man's body. We 
had tomatoes in mid-winter from vines that had been 
bearing for many months, and we saw beets that had 
grown year after year until they were of great size, 
in comparison with those of eastern section. 

While at Fresno we took a trip in carriages across 
the country to Farmersville, a small town in the in- 
terior, about forty miles away. We also attended a 
camp-meeting at Tulare, where we met Brother and 
Sister Brundage and other saints. 

In the month of March, after being in California 
a year and four months, we took the southern route 
and returned East by way of Arizona. We stopped 
at Phoenix and held a two weeks' meeting with good 
success. One evening I visited a sick sister, who 



MY CALIFORNIA TRIP 221 

seemed to be suffering considerably. She did not 
ask for prayer, and I did not volunteer to pray for 
her. As I left, her little three-year-old child heard 
her say that she wished Sister Cole had prayed for 
her while there, as she wanted to be healed and go to 
meeting that night. "Mama," said the little one, 
"I will pray for you," and she stepped up and put 
her little hands on her mama's head. After prayer 
she said, "Mama, are you better now?" "No." "All 
right, I will pray for you again." Again she asked 
the Lord to make her mama well. "Mama, aren't 
you better now?" "No, I feel as bad as ever." 
"Well, I will pray for you again." By this time 
the mother saw that the child had more faith than 
she. She decided to exercise every bit of faith she 
had. After the little girl had prayed the third time, 
she said, "Mama, aren't you better now?" The 
mother answered, 'Yes, I believe the Lord heals 
me." She got up and dressed herself, and sure 
enough she was well. 

At the street-meetings we held in Phoenix, there 
were present Indians and a number of foreigners of 
different nationalities. While in this town we had 
the privilege of visiting our old friends, Brother and 
Sister Pine, who were then living a few miles out of 
the city. Both we and they were much delighted to 
meet again. A day or two more of traveling on the 
railway, and we were again among familiar scenes, 
which seemed very dear to us after so long an ab- 
sence. 



222 TRIALS AND TRIUMPHS OF FAITH 

Chapter XVIII 

Visiting Relatives in the East 

After our return from California I found that my 
body was much worn by our labors in that State. I 
therefore rested for a few weeks; then in company 
with my brother George, I attended a number of 
camp-meetings that summer. A little later in the 
year we went to visit relatives in Ohio and Indiana, 
stopping on the way to hold a few meetings in the 
city of Chicago. On this trip we visited also my 
mother's old home in Carroll County, Ohio, and 
while there saw many things, which, although new 
to us, seemed familiar because of her oft-repeated 
stories in regard to them. Although we had a pleas- 
ant time, because of the sociability and kindness of 
the people we visited, yet our hearts were saddened 
that we found none of our relatives enjoying a clear 
experience of salvation* 

George returned to the West and I remained for 
sometime longer with an uncle, Mother's brother. I 
did what I could while I was there to lead these dear 
ones to see the full light of Christianity, but I do 
not know whether or not I accomplished anything. 
The time was now drawing near for me to return to 
the West, and I did not have money enough to pay 
my way. I felt ashamed to let my relatives know 
anything about it, as I had been telling them of 
God's goodness in providing for me and trying to 



VISITING RELATIVES IN THE EAST 223 

teach them to trust God for all things. I had hoped 
that George, who knew something of my financial 
straits, would send me some money. I was expect- 
ing to hear from him, but when he did write, he 
sent only a postal card. My uncle's folks had spoken 
in a way that showed doubt as to whether I had 
money enough to pay my car-fare, but I had told 
them that I was trusting the Lord and that he would 
provide. 

I prayed very earnestly and the Lord seemed to 
bring to my mind an incident connected with the 
crossing of the Jordan by the children of Israel. 
They had to prove God by stepping into the edge of 
the water before he saw fit to make the waters roll 
back, thus opening a path for them through the 
river. I was impressed that God wanted to test me 
and that I should have to be willing to go to the 
depot without the money. Uncle did not take me to 
the depot, but found a chance for me to ride with a 
neighbor. At the depot I met a man who professed 
to be a saint, and I wondered if he would not help 
me pay my way. He had intimated that he might 
help me. But he did not ask me whether I needed 
any money, nor did he offer to give me any. I was 
asking God earnestly what to do, and I had just 
about decided to buy a ticket to a point as far as my 
money would pay and then to trust God for the rest 
of my fare, when, looking up, I saw in the distance 
some one coming through the heat, and as he drew 
nearer, I recognized him as Uncle. 



224 TRIALS AND TRIUMPHS OF FAITH 

He had not come to the depot with me, as he was 
afraid it would be too hard for him to walk back, 
but now he was coming. I wondered why, and when 
he got near me I said, "O Uncle! why did you come 
through this heat?" The tears began to roll down 
his face, and he said, "Mary, I was afraid you 
didn't have enough money." "Uncle," I said, "I 
guess God showed you, for I didn't have enough. 
I lack about fifty cents." He said, "When I was 
at your home, your brothers were so good to help me 
that I felt it was my duty to see that you had enough 
money to pay your way." "Uncle," I said, "I won't 
need more than fifty cents." "Here is a dollar; 
take it." "No, you give me just fifty cents." He 
did so, and I had just a few cents more than enough 
to pay my fare. 

I can almost see the dear old soul yet coming 
through the heat almost exhausted — and then to 
think how good the Lord was to help me in this time 
of need ! The thought of the Lord's kindness melted 
me to tears, and I thanked him over and over. This 
incident shows, too, that many times a kind deed 
long forgotten is rewarded at a later time when help 
is much needed. Let us not forget to "scatter deeds 
of kindness for our reaping by and by." 

A short time after this we went on a visit to the old 
home at Windsor, Mo. The night after we came 
an electric storm passed over the little town, ac- 
companied with a high wind and torrents of rain. 



VISITING RELATIVES IN THE EAST 225 

While the storm was at its height, lightning struck 
the belfry of the Baptist chapel, two doors from our 
house. The meeting-house was soon in flames, and 
the high wind hurled great pieces of burning timbers 
over our house, and for a while there seemed great 
danger of its taking fire too. Mother was quite un- 
easy, but God made us to know that he would pro- 
tect us. 

While on this visit, George and I went about 
twenty miles distance in a buggy to visit a brother and 
a sister and their families. While on our return trip 
we stopped at the little town of Lincoln to water our 
horses, and George took the bits out of the horse's 
mouth to let him drink. The animal became fright- 
ened at the sound of the wind-mill where we were 
watering, and began to run, and as there were no 
bits in his mouth, the lines in my hands were use- 
less. My brother undertook to hold the horse, but 
under the circumstances he could not do so. He 
saw that my life was in danger, and in trying to res- 
cue me he got wound up in the lines and was hurt 
quite a little, I was thrown out of the buggy and 
dragged about a hundred yards and badly injured in- 
ternally. When George got to me, I was unconscious, 
but I soon came to myself. Then we both called earn- 
estly on God, who answered prayer. We were both 
sufficiently relieved so that when the horse got over 
its fright and the buggy was repaired, we started on 
our journey of seventeen miles home. We thanked 
God that the sky was clouded over; thus God held 



226 TRIALS AND TRIUMPHS OF FAITH 

his big umbrella over us and gave us protection 
from the heat, as we were both very sick and in 
danger of fainting. 

I found later that the injury I had received in the 
runaway was more serious than we had at first 
thought. I trusted God as best I could for my heal- 
ing, and we soon started on our way to Neosho Falls, 
Kans., to attend a camp-meeting. Within seven 
days after I was hurt, I was scarcely able to be up 
at all. My nerves were in such a condition that I 
could scarcely bear any noise at all, not even the 
sound of a person's voice. Because of the weakness 
and the pain I suffered, I missed most of the meet- 
ing and lay in bed for about three weeks after the 
meeting closed. The injury had so affected my 
brain that I was not capable of grasping God's 
promises for my healing. About this time I had a 
dream. I was in a large ship that was in a sinking 
condition. I was not in the water, but was clinging 
desperately to the side of the vessel. We called for 
help, and a tug-boat came to our rescue. Fearing 
I could not hold on much longer, I called to them to 
hurry. They replied that they must rescue Sister 
Martin first. I awoke, and the Lord made me to 
know that, owing to the condition of my brain, I 
could not myself obtain healing, and that I should 
ask the church to help bear the burden. So I got 
the church at Neosho Falls to fast and pray, and 
we also had the saints in Moundsville to agree with 
us in prayer. God heard prayer, healed my body, 



VISITING RELATIVES IN THE EAST 227 

and my brother and I soon started on our journey 
east again. 

On our way we stopped at home and stayed over 
one night. One of the sisters in that neighborhood 
begged me to remain and rest a whole year, saying 
if I did not I would soon be in my grave. My re- 
ply was: "I need more than a rest. God wants me 
to go. He can help me where I am going as well as 
at home. Pray for me, sister, that God will grant 
me all the healing I yet need." She promised me 
she would. From this time on I gained rapidly, 
but it was a month or more before I was as strong as 
usual. 

On our way east we went through Kentucky and 
held some meetings with Brother Kilpatrick. George 
took the eczema, and after these meetings his con- 
dition became serious. For about two months he 
suffered greatly. During this time he could not 
sit down, but had to either stand or lie. Before he 
recovered, we got a call to come to Chicago. We 
started, but George was so feeble that I did not know 
whether or not he would live until we got to our 
destination. The brother with whom we had been 
staying insisted that we stay longer, but we felt God 
urging us on, so we went. 



228 TRIALS AND TRIUMPHS OF FAITH 

Chapter XIX 
Mission Work in Chicago 

On arriving in Chicago, we found Brother T— , 
who had charge of the work in the city, at 1612 
Prairie Ave. For nearly a year my brother and I 
assisted him in the work, and then, as he insisted 
that we become responsible for the work in a general 
way, we took charge. 

When we first went to Chicago, we were not just 
sure what God wanted us to do. The first winter I 
helped hold meetings for homeless men in the slum 
district. As a class, these people were so deep in sin 
that it was hard to reach them. A few, however, 
did get a real experience of salvation; but it was 
difficult for them to keep saved, and when they 
would give up, they would not stop until they had 
gone into the grossest kind of sin. Some of them 
would get converted again and again, only to be 
overcome by the tempter. Their characters had 
been so weakened by indulging in sin and giving 
way to their appetites that it seemed hard for them 
to become established. It took a great deal of pa- 
tience and labor to get any of them established. The 
religious career of many of them was very brief, 
but others struggled on for a long time. No doubt 
some became thoroughly established and remained 
true to the Lord. 

This work was not very satisfactory to us. True, 



MISSION WORK IN CHICAGO 229 

the souls of these people are as precious in the sight 
of God as the souls of any other people, but we soon 
saw that the energy expended upon these people of 
the slums would, if directed toward people in the 
great middle walks of life, accomplish far more in 
the salvation of souls. Gospel workers, if the Lord 
leads you to take up slum-work, be sure to obey the 
Lord, but be equally sure that you don't attempt 
slum-work unless God is leading you. 

As the work was not satisfactory to us, my brother 
rented a house for five years as a missionary home. 
The monthly rent was $25, and it was wonderful 
how God answered prayer and brought the means 
to pay the rent. Many times our support would 
come from a distance. For two or three years before 
we came to the city, Brother T — had held meet- 
ings every Sunday afternoon in the Masonic Temple. 
The rent for the room in which we held services in 
the temple for two and one-half hours each week, 
was for a time $15 a month, and later $16. Be- 
sides the meeting in the Temple, we had cottage- 
meetings in different parts of the city* 

Besides renting the home in which most of the 
workers lived, my brother rented for a year a house 
to serve as a home for workers in the slum district, 
paying a monthly rental of $60. As my brother 
was ignorant of what he was getting into, the Lord 
seemed to humor him for two or three months by 
providing the money for the rent of this building. 
Then my brother got into trouble. He prayed 



230 TRIALS AND TRIUMPHS OF FAITH 

earnestly for money to pay the rent on this building, 
but his prayers would not go through. Heaven 
seemed closed against him. After making several 
efforts in this way, for a while without avail, my 
brother said that if he could not get his prayers 
through for money to pay the rent, he would pray 
that God would make the landlord willing to give up 
the lease. His prayers were heard, the landlord 
surrendered the lease, and George got out of his 
difficulty. Subsequent events showed that the Lord 
was willing to provide money for us in abundance as 
long as we acted in accordance with his divine plan 
for us. 

In consideration of the facts that we paid our 
$40 a month for rent on our home and meeting- 
place, and that we enjoyed but limited privileges 
in holding meetings, my brother felt impressed be- 
fore the five years were out that the Lord wanted us 
to build a home which should be permanent and 
which should be the property of the church. The 
work was begun in March, 1 903, and by the blessing 
of God and the cooperation of the church in general, 
the home and chapel were both finished by Christmas. 
The greater part of the work was donated, one ex- 
perienced carpenter giving over $600 worth of labor. 

Our work in the city was a school of trust. We 
trusted the Lord for food, for raiment, for rent, and 
for everything else that we needed. Sometimes 
when I would have a little money laid by, an op- 
portunity would come to use it, and I would think, 



MISSION WORK IN CHICAGO 231 

"I don't want to give this up, for I may need it later." 
Then the voice of the Spirit would say to me, "If 
you don't keep your purse open and use the means 
you have, God will not supply you." I obeyed God, 
and he never allowed me to be confounded. Many 
times when we did not have sufficient food for the 
whole day, we would get down and ask God to send 
either money or food. It was marvelous how our 
prayers were answered, and that from sources 
from which we should have least expected help. 
The Lord wonderfully encouraged our hearts in 
this way. 

When we were building the home and chapel, a 
number of the workers felt led to purpose a certain 
sum to be paid in a year's time. The first year my 
purpose was $ 1 00, to be paid before December 3 1 . 
I got just enough to finish paying it December 30. 
The workers were all encouraged in like manner. 
The next year some of them suggested that, as God 
had helped them through so marvelously the first 
year, we should purpose twice as much. I received 
sufficient money to pay the $200 by Thanksgiving, 
a month sooner than I had paid the $100 the year 
before. 

We often had to trust the Lord for car-fare, and 
many times it came to us in remarkable ways. One 
day one of the sisters started out to make a call in 
the city with only enough money to pay her fare one 
way. While she was sitting in the car, she looked 
down into her lap and there lay a quarter. How it 



232 TRIALS AND TRIUMPHS OF FAITH 

i 
got there was a mystery. Sometimes even strangers 
passing us on the street would feel impressed to hand 
us enough money to pay our fares. Again, some 
of the workers while trusting the Lord would find 
just the amount needed. 

The Lord showed us here in the city as he did 
while we were in California, that he wanted us not 
only to appreciate and enjoy the blessings sent us, 
but also to pass some of our blessings to those who 
were needy, and that in so doing we should be 
blessed as well as those who gave to us. Brethren, 
God's plan is an unselfish one. If we expect to grow 
in grace and to develop in trust and in other of his 
precious graces, we must unselfishly impart what 
God gives to us. "Freely ye have received, freely 
give." "He that watereth shall be watered again." 
"The willing and the obedient shall eat the good of 
the land." If we withhold blessings from others, 
whether it be means or any other help that we can 
afford them, we ourselves shall be losers, and they 
will be deprived of their rights. 

Some little time after we located in the city we 
had our mother come to live with us. She had 
been a widow for some years. I counted it a happy 
privilege that I should be allowed to care for her 
in her old days. I had long desired to care for her 
and took advantage of the first opportunity of hav- 
ing her come to us. I had also desired that in her 
old days she should not lose her mind as some old 
people do, and that she should enjoy a good long 





wmm : ^ r - 



Mary Cole 
Five years after her healing 







rfilpllll::» 





Mother Rebecca Cole 

In her 92d year. From a photograph taken fourteen 

months before her death 



MISSION WORK IN CHICAGO 233 

life. My prayers have been answered and my 
hopes realized.* 

We had been in Chicago only about a year when 
news came from Hammond, La., that my oldest 
brother, Jeremiah, had died at that place, Oct. 13, 
1 899. While we were in California, Jeremiah came 
to that State and held meetings, although he was 
with us only a short time. For some years before his 
death his health had not been very good, and in the 
fall of 1 899 he went to the South for the third time 
to winter. While he was holding meetings nor far 
from Hammond, La., October 1, he became sud- 
denly sick while preaching and had to leave the pul- 
pit in the middle of his discourse. 

Bro. F. M. Williamson, at whose home he was 
staying, begged to be allowed to write or telegraph 
to his folks, but Jeremiah said, "No, my illness will 
last but a few days, and it is no use to worry my 
folks." He lingered until October 13, when he 
died. Brother Williamson, who was with him until 
the end, said that my brother had the confidence of 
everybody in that part of the country and that he 
died a triumphant death. Shortly before my brother's 
death a letter was sent us saying that he was very 
sick, but it did not reach us until several days after 
his burial. 

♦Nearly a year after the above account was written, on 
Oct. 22, 1914, Mother died at the ag-e of ninety-two years. 
She had the rig-ht use of her mind until the last. After 
she had lost the power to see and hear distinctly, she would 
recognize me by a sig-n to which we had agreed and wouM 
call my name, and even after speech had failed, she still 
attempted to say, "Mary." 



234 TRIALS AND TRIUMPHS OF FAITH 

Before going to Chicago, we had worked almost 
altogether in small towns and in the country. Of 
course, the work in such a large city as Chicago was 
quite different. Nevertheless, we were glad for the 
experience we had had and of the chance we now had 
for putting it in practise and of making improvement. 
We learned, however, that the souls of men are 
much the same, whether they live in a city or in the 
country, and that God gives his ministers authority 
over evil spirits wherever they may be found. 

When we took the Chicago work in charge, there 
was in the congregation a certain man who had got- 
ten under a wrong spirit and had led others away 
with him, thus causing trouble and dissension. The 
false spirit seemed to be strongly entrenched and 
very hard to get rid of. This man of whom we have 
spoken, and whom, for want of a better name, we 
shall designate as Brother B — , sent word to quite a 
large number of the saints in the city to be present 
at the meeting-place on a certain Sunday evening, 
as he would occupy the pulpit from five until six after 
the regular meeting closed. Some of our company 
were out of the city during that week, and on Satur- 
day night a fearful snow-storm came, continuing on 
into Sunday. 

I wished very much that those workers who were 
out of the city should return for the Sunday evening 
service, as I saw that we were going to have to meet 
the enemy in a very bold way. When I awoke Sun- 



MISSION WORK IN CHICAGO 235 

day morning, however, the Lord made me know that 
I must be willing to face the enemy with him alone, 
and this song rang in my heart: 

"I will go where you want me to go, dear Lord; 
I will say what you want me to say." 

God was my perfect sufficiency. Some of the 
members of the congregation who might be included 
under the Scriptural term "lambs" stood by me like 
warriors. Two of them sat in the pulpit with me, 
one on each side to hold my hands, as it were. God 
had warned me in a dream of the enemy's attack 
and had shown me some things that were very help- 
ful in that very hour. In my dream I had seen the 
enemy in the form of a ferocious animal approach- 
ing to destroy God's children. We were in a large 
pavilion which was entered by a large open door. In 
my dream I thought that God told me to go and shut 
that door. I started to obey, and when I got near 
it, the animal was about to enter, but God made me 
to know that he would help me through and enable 
me to get the door shut. As I shut the large door, 
the Lord showed me another little door, saying, "Go 
and shut that too." 

On the Sunday of which I am speaking, when I 
really had to face the enemy, God gave me as a 
subject for my sermon various instances in the history 
of the church where the enemy had attacked God's 
children and work and where God himself had de- 
fended them and defeated the enemy. I spoke of 



236 TRIALS AND TRIUMPHS OF FAITH 

how Joseph's brethren plotted to take his life and 
finally sold him into Egypt as a slave ; of how God 
made him a prince and a ruler over his brethren and 
finally their savior and benefactor. I spoke of Jesus 
— how the Jews killed him, put his body into a sepul- 
cher, closed it with a great stone, sealed it with the 
king's seal; how the Lord defeated their purpose, 
arose from the dead, and ascended to the right hand 
of God. Right in the middle of the sermon God 
showed me what he meant by shutting the big door 
and made me to know that I must expose and re- 
nounce the one under the spirit of the devil who was 
trying to undermine the work. He showed me, 
furthermore, that another man who was helping him 
was the little door and that he wanted me to de- 
nounce him also. 

As I began denouncing the spirit of error that had 
crept into the congregation, the poor deluded ones 
clamored for a chance to defend themselves, but 
God showed me that I should give no place to the 
devil. I advised all the true children of the Lord 
to leave the meeting-place at the proper time, and not 
to listen to the enemy's pouring out against God's 
work and cause. Most of the people took my ad- 
vice and left at the proper time. Just a few back- 
sliders and chronic grumblers remained to hear 
Brother B — 's message. I can not tell you how 
God used this victory to encourage and strengthen 
my soul. He seemed to humor and pet me all the 
next day and to bring it to me again and again that 



MISSION WORK IN CHICAGO 237 

he was pleased with me. I seemed to hear him say 
again and again, "I am well pleased with you." 

One of the company who had been with us for 
some time, did not seem to be making the develop- 
ment as a worker that we had expected him to make. 
He came so far short of our anticipation that we 
were tempted at times to conclude that we were mis- 
taken in encouraging him to remain in the work with 
us. The enemy, of course, worked hard to dis- 
courage him and we were beginning to think that 
perhaps it would be well to discourage his remaining 
longer with us. When I prayed earnestly over the 
matter, however, the Lord made me understand that 
this was a worthy child of his and that in his soul 
there was a trueness and faithfulness not to be found 
in every worker. The Lord showed me that if we 
would exercise patience with him, development 
would come in good time. The outcome has been 
all that could be desired. For a number of years 
this brother's name has been familiar throughout the 
church, and he is still holding some of the most re- 
sponsible places. 

At another time this same brother was going 
through a fiery trial. God no doubt was permitting 
the trial to broaden him and to develop him for 
future usefulness. What he was enduring, however, 
became a severe trial to me. Finally it seemed as 
though I had endured about all that I could, so I 
said to him one day, "Either you or I will have to 
leave. I can't stand this any more." He did not 



238 TRIALS AND TRIUMPHS OF FAITH 

answer me, but went away by himself and asked 
God to give me more compassion. 

Dear brothers and sisters in the ministry, right 
here I would sound a note of warning. Let us be 
careful when a young worker comes among us. Even 
if he does not seem promising at first, let us have pa- 
tience with him and give him a chance ; let him prove 
himself. Let us give him all the encouragement we 
can and do what we can to help develop him. Per- 
haps you can help such a one by telling him some of 
God's dealings with you and how he helped you out 
of difficulty, how he tided you over and lifted you 
above discouragements, how he brushed away the 
dark clouds. Do not be too quick to conclude, 
"Well, I don't believe God had his hand upon that 
person, after all," for we might find ourselves work- 
ing against God instead of being coworkers with him. 

We had not been in the city a great while until 
we had more calls than we could fill. People wrote 
asking us to call on their friends to see if we could 
not get the truth to them. We were called to visit 
places that were by no means inviting. We also had 
calls from suburban towns and other near-by places, 
and at times we were led to hold meetings for a 
week or two in places outside the city. Surely we 
fulfilled the scripture, "Sow beside all waters." We 
soon learned from experience that not all who came 
to the home telling pitiful stories of need were de- 
serving of help. Sometimes after giving provisions 
and even money, we learned that our charity had 



MISSION WORK IN CHICAGO 239 

been misapplied. We soon learned that it was wise 
to find out whether we were helping the worthy poor 
or impostors. 

After the chapel was built, opportunities for reach- 
ing souls greatly increased. We now had meetings 
whenever we chose, especially on Sunday evenings, 
Thursday afternoon and evening, with good attend- 
ance of saints and truth-seekers. Our expenses, too, 
were greatly lessened in this way, especially at the 
time of the yearly assemblies. One year the rental 
of the building in which the assembly was held, was, 
I think, $300 for ten days. Before a certain as- 
sembly the saints had contributed freely to provide 
money for the coming assembly. Shortly before the 
meeting began the treasury was robbed of over $200. 

During the ten years I spent in the Chicago work, 
I witnessed many wonderful deliverances from sin, 
from disease, and from evil spirits. The account of 
these experiences would of itself make a large vol- 
ume; I can mention only a few here. Sister Pearl 
Horman, who came to the home, was taken very 
sick with fever. Her case was very serious, the 
fever being very high. The Lord rebuked the fever 
and in a short time she was well. Sister Myra Barrett 
came to a meeting we were having in the chapel one 
night, and remained all night in the home. Before 
morning she had an attack of erysipelas in the face, 
accompanied by a high fevtr. The Lord put his 
rebuke on the disease and not many days later she 
was able to resume her duties in an office in the city. 



240 TRIALS AND TRIUMPHS OF FAITH 

In answer to a call from Joliet, 111., we went to 
that place and anointed a brother who was very 
sick with the quinsy. In answer to the prayer of 
faith, God wonderfully healed him. One winter 
night a call came from the suburbs of the city for 
some one to come and anoint a child suffering from 
a violent attack of pneumonia. The snow lay deep 
on the ground and the weather was very cold. My 
brother and I answered the call. As the night was 
far spent, the street-cars were no longer running in 
the direction we had to go, and so we had to walk 
over a mile facing the wintry storm. God answered 
prayer in behalf of the child. It was better before 
we left next morning and was soon entirely well. 

At another time we were called upon to pray for 
a boy who had appendicitis. The doctors who ex- 
amined him said that without an operation he could 
not possibly live, but his father, being a saint, desired 
prayer. Brother Reardon and I anointed the boy, 
prayed the prayer of faith, and the boy was healed. 
God got the glory that time instead of the doctor, 
not to speak of the saving of a great deal of suffering 
and a heavy doctor-bill. 

My mother was in the home at the time Sister 
Barrett was healed of erysipelas. About ten years 
before this time Mother had the same affliction, and 
it came near taking her life. As a result, she had 
an especial dread of this disease. Before coming 
to the home, Mother had not been able to wholly 
trust the Lord for healing, but when she came to live 



MISSION WORK IN CHICAGO 241 

with us, she decided to trust the Lord. But when 
she saw Sister Barrett having such a severe attack 
of erysipelas, she became a little alarmed and used 
something as a preventive, not realizing that it would 
hinder her faith. In nine days she had a severe at- 
tack of erysipelas. For a number of days she had 
quite a fight of faith, and we sent telegrams to The 
Trumpet Office twice. God in his mercy rebuked 
the disease, and she recovered rapidly for one of her 
age. Although she was past eighty-one, her recov- 
ery was much more rapid than it had been ten years 
before, when she had trusted the doctor. 

Sometime after mother was entirely well, we 
found the little preventive she had in her pocket and 
asked her about it. She confessed with tears that 
she had been using the preventive. We encouraged 
her to trust God fully for protection as well as for 
everything else. From that time forward she has 
been able to put her trust wholly in God. Some 
say that people get too old to trust the Lord, but in 
her case the older she gets, the more childlike be- 
comes her trust in God. 

A brother Jones, now of West Virginia, came to 
the home from a place where there was an epidemic 
of smallpox. He was just beginning to take the 
disease; in fact, a pimple or two had already ap- 
peared. He would take spells of being deathly sick, 
a common occurrence before breaking out with small- 
pox. The brother was innocent in coming to the 
home in that condition, thinking that he had been 



242 TRIALS AND TRIUMPHS OF FAITH 

exposed to the chicken-pox and that he was just 
coming down with a bad case of that disease. He 
trusted the Lord wholly for healing, and we all 
united our faith with his against the disease. 

The Monday following his arrival he, in company 
with my brother and others of the saints, went to the 
camp-meeting at Moundsville, W. Va. That same 
evening God made us who were left at the home to 
understand very definitely that the brother had the 
smallpox and that we should pray very earnestly 
that God would keep him from breaking out until 
the nature of the disease could be discovered and 
the brother be put under quarantine to protect the 
camp-meeting. Our greatest fears were that the 
whole camp would be quarantined. The Lord en- 
couraged our hearts to continue in prayer that he 
would overrule the whole matter. In a few days 
they found out that Brother Jones was taking the 
smallpox, and they put him under quarantine. Very 
soon afterward he broke out. God had answered 
our prayers to keep him from breaking out, and he 
also protected us at the home and those at the camp- 
meeting. Our God is able to protect in every time 
of need. 

Two or three days later a boy came from the 
same smallpox-infected district. By this time physi- 
cians in Michigan City had found out that the disease 
they had there was smallpox, and were going to put 
the house where he had been staying under quaran- 
tine. The brother who had just come thought he 



MISSION WORK IN CHICAGO 243 

had sufficient faith to protect himself and others 
from the disease ; but we who were older in the work 
and understood the ways of the Lord better, advised 
him to return, lest if he should have the smallpox in 
the city, they would put him in the pest-house, where 
he would not have the same chance to trust the Lord 
that he would if at home. So he returned to his 
home and had the disease there. Again God mar- 
velously protected us. 

A young sister came to the home for help in both 
soul and body. After earnest prayer in her be- 
half, we found that she was in no condition to get 
help to her soul until her body became stronger. She 
had greatly overworked and her mind was about to 
give way. It was a month before we were able to 
talk to her at all about her soul. Her nerves were 
in such a condition that when she heard a prayer, a 
song, or a scripture, she could scarcely keep from 
screaming. As soon as she was able, we did all 
the Lord showed us to do for her soul. We found 
that all that God had laid to her charge was over- 
working and neglecting her spiritual life. Soon 
everything was made right with her soul, but it 
took months for her nerves and brain to get back to 
their normal condition. 

We learned a good lesson from this incident. If 
we neglect our spiritual lives, we shall be losers every 
time. The Lord is a jealous God, and if he can't 
be first, he won't be second. If we want him to 
work in and through us, we must give him a chance 



244 TRIALS AND TRIUMPHS OF FAITH 

to keep our souls replenished and ready for work. 
At different times while in city-work I have myself 
allowed temporal things to get too much on my mind, 
thus causing me to neglect my devotions. My spiri- 
tuality would begin to weaken, and I would become 
less capable of being a blessing to souls. Had I 
been more diligent at certain times in secret prayer 
and searching the Scriptures, I should have been 
spared some sad experiences and heartaches. 

One day the sister who was doing the cooking, 
made up a large batch of light bread, containing, 
I think, fifteen or twenty pounds of flour. The 
sister waited the proper length of time for the bread 
to rise, but it showed no signs at all of rising. Some 
of us talked the matter over and concluded that we 
could not afford to throw the flour away and that we 
had better ask God to make the bread rise. We did 
so, but the bread remained as lifeless as before. 
Finally a number of us gathered in the kitchen, knelt 
down on the floor, and asked God to make the bread 
rise. It was not long until our prayers were answered. 
That batch of dough made as good bread as I have 
ever eaten. God wonderfully stirred up the thanks- 
giving in our souls for this answer to prayer. 

One of the company in the home had been ex- 
posed to the measles, and they were beginning to 
break out on his body. The Lord brought to his 
mind that he did not need to have the measles and 
that if he would put up a fight of faith against them, 
the Lord would heal him. He was anointed and 



MISSION WORK IN CHICAGO 245 

prayed for, and God did put his rebuke on the afflic- 
tion. The following day he exercised himself too 
much and had to have prayer again. That was on 
Saturday evening. Monday morning he was suffi- 
ciently well to start on a trip to Ohio to see his peo- 
ple. The possibilities of faith can not be compre- 
hended by the finite mind of man. Well did the 
apostle say, "Faith is the substance of things hoped 
for, the evidence of things not seen/* 

Among many precious ones associated with us 
in the work in Chicago was Sister Clara Tuttle, now 
gone to her reward. She was a great help to my 
brother and me, and a blessing to the work in gen- 
eral. Shortly after she became acquainted with 
the truth, she asked the Lord what was her place in 
the body, and he told her it was to be a good 
mother. She filled her place well. This dear sister 
was not only a good mother to her own children, but 
to others, especially to the young workers who had 
no mother or whose mothers were unsaved. She not 
only gave good counsel to the young workers, but 
prayed with them in times of perplexity. Would to 
God there were more mothers in Israel like her! 
"Her children will rise up and call her blessed." I 
still remember the counsel she gave a brother who 
was coming to the Missionary Home to stay for a 
time. "Now, brother, you have been acquainted 
with Brother Cole and his sister as gospel workers 
and have loved them dearly; but you have seen 
them only in the pulpit and public meetings, where 



246 TRIALS AND TRIUMPHS OF FAITH 

you have had but little opportunity to come in con- 
tact with their human weaknesses. When you go 
into the home to live with them, you will find that 
they are but human and make some mistakes. Be 
careful now that you do not judge them. Be care- 
ful that you don't allow these human weaknesses to 
hide the fact that they are ministers anointed by God 
to carry the gospel message to a lost world. Re- 
member that God does not judge them from a human 
standpoint. If he judged any of us in that way, we 
should all be found wanting.' ' 



TRIALS AND TRIUMPHS OF FAITH 247 

BIRTHDAY LINES 

In Memory of February 5, 1822 

Time moves on, and on, and onward, 

Piling up its teeming years; 
Each unfolds its store of blessings, 

Each one brings its joys and tears. 
Ninety years have thus been numbered 

Since one cold and wintry morn, 
On the fifth of February, 

When "our Mother Cole" was born. 

While her little life was tender, 

Only in its babyhood, 
God removed her loving mother 

To a world more pure and good. 
Left now the little helpless baby 

Without mother's love or care, 
Many shadows o'er it hovered, 

Many sorrows it must share. 

But her father kind and faithful 

Bro't much sunshine in her life; 
Tenderly he loved and blest her 

Until she became a wife. 
As a mother she was noble, 

Bore her lot with fortitude, 
Worried not o'er "sad tomorrows," 

But looked forward to the good. 

When Life's cares and trials oppressed her, 
She had One in whom to trust; 

Lovingly He bore her sorrows, 

And in Him her soul was blest. 



248 TRIALS AND TRIUMPHS OF FAITH 

She had always words of kindness 
For the sad and those alone; 

And she often bore their sorrows 
As if they had been her own. 

Old age does not foil the beauty 

Of her sweet unselfish ways; 
She still clings to Christ her Savior, 

On her lips are words of praise. 
Tho' upon her bed she lingers, 

There's no sorrow in her room, 
For her cheery words of comfort 

Dispel darkness and the gloom. 

Like a sunbeam softly falling 

As if on an errand of love, 
Cheering up some lonely hour, 

Pointing to a world above; 
Or, the lily rich with fragrance, 

Shedding forth its sweet perfume, 
So the life of our dear mother 

Cheers and brightens up her room. 

When her pilgrimage is ended, 

And her days are numbered here, 
She will only bloom the sweeter 

In that paradise o'er there. 
Soon the angels will be coming, 

Bear her to that land of rest, 
Where she'll ever be with Jesus, 

To rejoice among the blest. 





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TRIALS AND TRIUMPHS OF FAITH 249 

Chapter XX 

A Battle With Smallpox 

Soon after we began work in the city, my brother 
George went out to assist in a meeting at Edgewood, 
Iowa. A mother desired prayer for her little girl, 
so my brother and another minister laid hands on her 
and prayed for her healing. . The mother said that 
some one thought her child was taking smallpox, but 
that she was sure it was a mistake. The ministers 
saw a few little pimples on the child's lip and asked 
her if the same breaking-out was on other parts of 
her body. The mother's answer was, "None to 
speak of," and they reached the conclusion that the 
pimples on her lip were fever-sores. Under the im- 
pression that the child had nothing seriously wrong 
with her, my brother went to Roseville, 111., to begin 
a series of meetings. When the meeting had con- 
tinued about a week, my brother began to be sick. 
Still in ignorance as to the nature of his sickness, he 
continued the meetings a few days longer. His 
illness increased and the first fever came upon him. 
The congregation was exposed before he knew what 
was the matter, but God overruled, answering the 
prayers of his children to protect all in attendance. 
When the nature of my brother's disease came to be 
fully understood, it seemed that all hopes of doing 
good at that place were blasted. Nevertheless, 
some seed had fallen on good ground, and these 
later brought forth precious fruit. 



250 TRIALS AND TRIUMPHS OF FAITH 

A sister who had been present at my brother's 
meetings, accepted the truth, got a good experience, 
and began living the life of a saint. Her nephew, 
Bro. John Murphy, now a minister of the church at 
Farmersville, Cal., came to visit her, bringing with 
him Bro. John Hauck. These two young men had 
been attending a Baptist college at Ottawa, Kans. 
A traveling minister who visited that place preached 
the doctrine of entire sanctification and these two 
young men sought and obtained the experience. The 
next morning after receiving the baptism of the 
Spirit, they started out like Abraham of old, not 
knowing whither they went, nor did they know 
where the Lord was leading them until they reached 
the home of Brother Murphy's aunt. Here they 
found a copy of The Gospel Trumpet. 

As soon as they read The Trumpet, they knew 
where the Lord was leading them. They made their 
way to The Gospel Trumpet office, where Brother 
Murphy remained as a worker for two or three 
years and Brother Hauck for nearly ten years. Both 
are now ministers in this reformation. At least four 
ministers and four other workers at The Trumpet 
office, besides a score of other souls, have entered 
God's service through this sister's influence. So in 
spite of the fact that my brother thought that his 
labors at Roseville ended without results, many 
souls have been brought into the kingdom. "Cast 
thy bread upon the waters, and thou shalt find it 
after many days." "Drop a pebble in the water, 



A BATTLE WITH SMALLPOX 251 

just a splash and it is gone; but there are half a 
hundred ripples circling on, and on." "He that 
goeth forth and weepeth, bearing precious seed, shall 
doubtless come again with rejoicing bringing his 
sheaves with him." 

My brother wrote me a card that he was not feel- 
ing well. On its receipt I was greatly burdened and 
felt led to go where he was, though I knew nothing 
about his condition. I waited until I received an- 
other message from him, which said that he was 
worse. I thought that God was leading me to go 
to him and felt a great burden as though I were go- 
ing to meet something very serious, quite out of the 
ordinary. A number of other workers and I met 
and prayed for an hour before I went. I sent a tele- 
gram that I was coming. Some of the saints thought 
that I should wait until I got an answer to my tele- 
gram before starting; but I said, "No, God wanted 
me to telegraph that I was coming, and then start 
as quickly as possible." The Lord gave me this 
scripture: 1 Pet. 4, commencing at the twelfth verse. 
The thirteenth verse was an especial comfort to me. 
I understood that I was going to meet something 
unusual, that I was going to have a severe battle in 
some way; but with this knowledge I had the ad- 
monition, "But rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers 
of Christ's sufferings." Two weeks before this God 
gave me the same scripture, with the impression that 
I should see its fulfilment in the near future. 

I arrived at Roseville about twelve days after my 



252 TRIALS AND TRIUMPHS OF FAITH 

brother had prayed for the little girl and found him 
already beginning to break out. We learned that 
the other minister who had been with him, took the 
disease about the same time. For a day or two 
after my arrival, however, we were not certain that 
my brother had the smallpox. As soon as we were 
convinced of the nature of the disease, we sent for 
a physician to come and quarantine us so that others 
would be protected, and the battle began. 

The doctor called every day, said he had to come 
to protect the home where we were staying. He 
vaccinated quite a number, including me and Sister 
Elizabeth Hill, who was helping me care for brother 
George. Sister Hill trusted the Lord that the vac- 
cination would not take. Her faith proved effec- 
tual. I thought I had to let the vaccination take, 
did not resist, and so had a severe time of it. I was 
the sickest when my brother needed the greatest 
attention — just as the scales were falling off. 

The doctor did his best to get a chance to treat 
my brother. He worked by strategy and seemed to 
have some new scheme every day. He shut me out 
of the room and tried to force my brother to take 
medicine when he was too weak to think. He made 
my brother promise to use the medicine and then 
tried to make me promise that I would see that it 
was used. I told him I would do as my brother said. 
After the doctor's departure, I had a little talk with 
George, and he decided to continue trusting the 
Lord. 



A BATTLE WITH SMALLPOX 253 

From the very beginning he had put his case in 
God's hands. When the fever reached its height 
and the disease was at its climax, God rebuked it, 
and soon my brother was on the road to recovery. 
Inside of an hour the fever was going down and in 
twelve hours it was entirely gone. The same eve- 
ning the fever was rebuked, the doctor came. My 
brother said, "Doctor, I am better." "Yes," he an- 
swered, "But not permanently so." "Yes," said my 
brother, "permanently, and I know where the heal- 
ing came from. God sent it, and I know I shall not 
get worse." From that time forward his improve- 
ment was rapid. 

Soon after that the effects of the disease settled 
in his eyes, and for a time it seemed that his sight 
would be destroyed, but in answer to prayer his 
eyes began to recover and were soon all right again. 
Then the pox attacked his nose, closing the nostrils 
so that it seemed almost to kill him to breathe. It 
was during one of these times that the doctor was 
most determined to push his remedies on him, and 
he succeeded, too, in a small measure. The medi- 
cine was applied once or twice, but God made it 
very clear to me that he had the case in his own 
hands, and we applied ourselves to prayer. In less 
than an hour the obstructions were removed from his 
nose, and he breathed like a little child, so easily that 
we could scarcely hear his breath across the room. 

Then came the doctor's last attempt to push reme- 
dies on us. He said we needed something to keep 



254 TRIALS AND TRIUMPHS OF FAITH 

his face from pitting, declaring that unless some 
remedies were used it would pit badly. Again we 
sought the Lord in prayer. There was but one pit 
left on his face, and that would not be noticed un- 
less attention were called to it. God proved the 
doctor wrong in every point by not leaving a trace 
of the disease on my brother's body. 

After the fever went down, it was with difficulty 
that my brother was kept warm. It was late in the 
fall, the weather was cold, and my brother's blood 
was so thin it would have been very easy for him to 
take cold. The doctor carried out smallpox laws 
to the extreme, putting up a wet sheet in my brother's 
door as he was scaling off. I felt rather bold : as said 
of one of old, I wasn't afraid of the king's command. 
So at night I put the wet sheet back so that my 
brother could get the warmth of the fire. In the 
morning I put the sheet back across the door before 
the doctor came. 

But we had not fought this battle through alone. 
The church in general were praying earnestly for us. 
It seemed when we plead the promises we touched 
an agreement, and it was like a mighty cable. We 
felt so secure and were so hedged in by prayer and 
faith that when I thought of the danger of taking the 
smallpox, it seemed I could exercise faith so easily 
in agreement. It was very easy for me to say, "By 
faith I know God will not let me take it." After 
I was vaccinated, some one said to me, "Now you 
feel more safe, don't you?" My answer was "No, 



A BATTLE WITH SMALLPOX 255 

I have no confidence in that at all. My confidence 
is in the Lord. It is he who has protected me. He 
shall have all the glory." 

What few letters we had a chance to write, had 
to be dictated to some one standing about thirty 
yards away from us. During this time I concluded 
that if ever there was a disease followed by the per- 
secutions of the devil, it was the smallpox. Before 
this I had sometimes thought that Job's affliction 
was the small pox, but I now came to the conclusion 
that I was mistaken. Had his disease been small- 
pox, his three comforters would not have hung around 
him as they did to torture him. 

The enemy tried to inflict punishment upon us in 
every way he could. A great many in the neigh- 
borhood felt hurt because George had unconsciously 
brought the disease to that part of the country. Then 
the doctor, besides trying to push his remedies upon 
us and to make us as uncomfortable as possible in 
trusting the Lord, created all the sentiment he could 
against us in the neighborhood. At the same time 
he was making all the money he could by vaccinat- 
ing others. One woman that was vaccinated at that 
time, had varioloid, so the doctor said. The county 
built a pest-house for her and her husband. This, 
together with his other charges, cost the county eight 
hundred dollars. This woman, so I was informed, 
thought she was immune from the disease and when 
smallpox broke out the next fall, undertook to nurse 



256 TRIALS AND TRIUMPHS OF FAITH 

those who were having it. Again the doctor's words 
were proved false. She took the smallpox and died. 
It will always do to trust God ; man is weak at best. 

When George was about to recover, the authori- 
ties wanted to raise the quarantine too soon, thus ex- 
posing others to danger. Defeated in this attempt, 
their next move was to hold us longer than necessary. 
I had been praying that if the enemy tried to work 
in either way, God would defeat their purpose. 

I am sure it would have done your soul good to 
hear my brother when he had recovered sufficiently 
to get up and walk around. He walked the floor 
singing this song: 

"How can you part with Jesus, 
So loving, so kind and gracious! 
His service to me is precious; 
I am happy as I can be. 
I love my Lord; he loveth me. 
The life of a Christian suits me; 
I am happy as I can be." 

He would sing the song over and over and then 
praise God* It was good of the Lord to so wonder- 
fully sustain and protect him and all of us through 
this affliction. 

I do not know that any of us are able to appre- 
ciate as we should even the prayers of the saints dur- 
ing this trying time; not to speak of the generous 
offers of help made by some of the dear ones in the 
Lord and the unsaved members of my own family. 



A BATTLE WITH SMALLPOX 257 

One of my unsaved brothers and a sister minister, 
both having families, volunteered to come and help 
me care for George if I needed them. But I felt 
that to accept their offer would endanger their fami- 
lies unnecessarily, and told them that the Lord would 
help us and that we would get along. It touched 
our hearts, however, to think that they would risk 
their lives for our help and comfort. We appreci- 
ated all this to the extent of our abilities, and our 
hearts were melted in real thanksgiving because of 
such kindness. 

Every now and then during the quarantine I 
would get real hungry for encouragement and conso- 
lation. At such times my prayer was, "O Lord, 
give me some scripture that will be a help to me." 
The Lord would invariably point me to 1 Pet. 
4: 12 and 13, laying emphasis especially on the 
thirteenth verse. The Lord showed me that he wanted 
me to rejoice more. I would reply: "Lord, I 
thought I got out of that scripture all there was in it. 
I thought I had rejoiced all I could." At such times 
his answer would be, "You can rejoice more; there 
is more in it for you yet." Like a good teacher, he 
held me to the lesson until I learned it well. 

When we are in affliction, remember there is some 
lesson in it for us which we must learn. If we do 
not get it, the Lord will have to repeat the experience 
— give us the lesson over — because it was not learned 
the first time. By learning the lesson thoroughly the 
first time, we avoid its repetition, 



258 TRIALS AND TRIUMPHS OF FAITH 

I remember a prayer that was much on my lips 
during this trial of which I have been speaking: 
"Lord, help me to get out of the fire what you 
have in it for me, and help me to leave in the fire 
what you want me to be rid of." Even with the 
preparation this trial gave me, I was none too well 
prepared to encounter some things I had to meet soon 
afterward. God knew his business. He knew what 
was coming, knew the lesson I needed and gave it 
to me at the proper time. It pays to be submissive 
to God. If we are fully submitted into his hands, 
he will prepare us by the proper schooling for every 
test of life and in every difficulty bring us off more 
than conquerors. 

While my brother's illness was so severe, we were 
so wonderfully held up by the prayers of God's chil- 
dren that we did not feel the weight of the affliction 
that we were passing through. When my brother 
was sufficiently recovered, however, that the church 
got the news that he was getting better, their prayers 
were not so constant. By that time the sister at 
whose home I was staying and who had assisted me 
so faithfully in caring for my brother, was almost 
overcome by the long strain she had undergone. In 
fact, we were both almost ready to collapse. In 
our weak condition we felt the need of the prayers 
of others, but as the church had the impression that 
my brother was so far recovered that he no longer 
needed help, we had to fight the battle alone. I 
learned this, that no matter how much others help us 



A BATTLE WITH SMALLPOX 259 

by their prayers in time of trial, when we become 
able to take on responsibility ourselves, God re- 
quires us to do all we can for our own help and pro- 
tection. It was at this time that I felt very keenly 
that I should have rejoiced, more when the trial was 
on. 



260 TRIALS AND TRIUMPHS OF FAITH 

Chapter XXI 
Camp-Meetings in Various States 

While engaged in the work in Chicago I had the 
privilege of attending camp-meetings in a number 
of States. While at a camp-meeting at Grand 
Forks, N. Dak., I received an invitation to attend 
a meeting at Hammond, La., about 1,500 miles 
south. For some time I had had a desire to go to 
that part of the country for different reasons, and 
therefore gladly embraced this opportunity. I went 
by way of Chicago, remaining at the home for about 
a week. 

The kindness of my reception in the South gave 
me the impression that people in the South are very 
hospitable and large-hearted. I think that in this 
respect they excel many of our Northern and East- 
ern people. I found that in the South much is ex- 
pected of ministers coming from the East or the 
North. The responsibilities of the meeting, there- 
fore, were all that I could go through, even with the 
help of the Lord. It was July, and the weather 
was so warm that we could not use the tabernacle 
during the heat of the day, but had to resort to a 
little grove near by. 

During this meeting I went twelve miles and 
visited my brother's grave; on this trip I also called 
on some saints who lived in that part of the country. 
I had a pleasant drive and also got a chance to en- 



CAMP-MEETINGS IN VARIOUS STATES 261 

joy some of the Southern figs which grow in those 
parts. Notwithstanding I was much fatigued when 
I returned that evening and thought I would not go 
out to meeting at all. Then I thought I would go 
for the first of the service and return to my lodging 
before the meeting closed, as I would be too tired 
to remain. But God planned otherwise. He showed 
me that I must trust him for strength and be pre- 
pared to preach that evening. God delivered the 
message through me and blessed it to the salvation 
of a number of souls. 

Soon after the camp-meeting I returned to Chi- 
cago. As I started homeward, I found that the 
oppressive heat had greatly reduced my strength. 
Because of the heat, too, I had been tempted to 
drink too much ice-water, lemonade, etc. When 
about sixty miles from home, my heart began to 
fail, and I saw that unless the Lord helped me I was 
not going to be able to get through. I can not ex- 
press to you how earnestly I called upon God. Al- 
most every moment of the time from there on I 
trusted the Lord to hold me up, for it seemed that 
in spite of myself my heart would fail. The Lord 
came to my rescue. I reached my destination all 
right, and suffered no serious harm later. 

One fall I went to the camp-meeting at Carthage, 
Mo. At this meeting I met some of my old friends 
from Maries County, Missouri, and other places, 
some of whom I had not met for more than twenty 
years. One of them was a brother whom I first met 



262 TRIALS AND TRIUMPHS OF FAITH 

near Rolla, Mo. Seeing him reminded me of an 
incident that occurred in connection with his mother- 
in-law, old Sister Bell, at the time I was holding 
meetings in that part of the country. She was a 
large woman. One winter she slipped on the ice 
and came near breaking her back. The accident 
occurred in the middle of the week, and until the 
following Sunday morning she was paralyzed. 

The meeting that Sunday was at the Bell home. 
We found her lying helpless. As we talked to her 
about her healing, she seemed anxious to be healed. 
She was a good, pure saint, and lived close to the 
Lord. In the prayer before preaching we were es- 
pecially burdened for her and prayed earnestly that 
God would heal her. God encouraged our hearts. 
After preaching we again talked to her a little while 
and quoted some of the promises. I told her how 
God had heard and answered prayer for my heal- 
ing; I had had an attack of some disease a day or 
two before, and God had wonderfully delivered me 
from it. As we talked, her faith seemed to grow 
by bounds and leaps. We asked her if she was will- 
ing to die. She said she was; and again, if she was 
willing to live if the Lord wanted her to, and again 
she answered yes. Then we asked her if she be- 
lieVed the Lord would heal her. She said she did. 
Her husband and oldest daughter were standing by, 
expecting her to die any minute. Her mother, who 
was a skeptic, was also present. She wanted me to 
persuade her daughter to take medicine. I replied 



CAMP-MEETINGS IN VARIOUS STATES 263 

that I would talk to her daughter, but did not tell 
her what I would say. 

When I found out that the sister's faith was strong 
in God, I did what I could to encourage her to trust 
God for immediate healing. All at once, while we 
were talking, she said, "The Lord heals me." Her 
husband, fearing that the death-struggle was coming 
on, went to hold her in bed. I told him to let her 
go — that this was of God and that he would take 
care of her. She bounded out of bed and went 
running through the house, saying that God had 
healed her and that a sluice of praise was going 
through her soul. Her son-in-law was not present, 
so I hastened over to his house to tell him the good 
news. "Do you know what came to me first?" said 
he. "No," I answered. "Well, it came to me that 
she was lying in bed all this time to have a chance 
to show off on Sunday, but I know she isn't a hypo- 
crite, and therefore it isn't that way. But I am 
glad I wasn't there, for fear I should have had to 
believe." When I met this brother at Carthage, 
Mo., he was not, I am sorry to say, as strong in the 
faith as was his privilege. He had made great im- 
provement, however. How cruel is unbelief! It 
makes God a liar and causes one to believe the devil. 

From Carthage I went to Webb City, Mo., 
where I visited friends and saints whom I had known 
years before. Among the number was mother 
Sunderland.* From Webb City I went to Chanute, 

♦Since the above statement was written, Mother Sunderland 
has g-one to her reward. 



264 TRIALS AND TRIUMPHS OF FAITH 

Kans., and visited two saints, old friends of mine 
who needed encouragement. While at Chanute I 
ate something that did not agree with me. I partly 
recovered, and then went on to Neosho Falls, Kans., 
where I remained for two weeks and held a few 
services. As I still had severe sick spells, I sent for 
prayers to The Trumpet office and the saints in 
Kansas City and Chicago. The sister with whom 
I was staying held on to God, pleading the promises 
in my behalf like a hero, and with such importun- 
ing faith that I was soon able to pursue my journey. 

I made my next stop at Kansas City, remaining 
there for nearly a month, I think. When I first 
arrived at that place, I was quite weak. I did not 
fully comprehend how sick I had been. Bro. James 
Peterman, who had charge of the home, was called 
away the first Sunday after I arrived, and so I had 
charge of both services. I walked three-quarters of 
a mile three times that day and preached twice. The 
next day I walked a mile and a half, most of the 
way up hill. My exertions proved entirely too much 
for me, and I endured some rather severe suffering. 
My body was badly worn out, and as a result my 
mind got into a sad, discouraged mood. My medi- 
tations were something like this : I shall soon be get- 
ting old and helpless, and not able to do much in the 
work. If I live, it will not be long until I shall 
be a burden upon some one else. 

It was a late hour before my nerves got sufficiently 
quieted so that I could rest. The next morning I 



CAMP-MEETINGS IN VARIOUS STATES 265 

had a dream. I saw a little child about two years 
old playing on the floor. Some one came by and 
stepped on the little one's fingers, and it began to 
cry with pain. His father came along, took him up 
in his arms and caressed him, and very soon the 
pain was all gone, and the little fellow was all right 
again. It seemed that the father had such love and 
pity for the child that I felt the effects of it in my 
own soul. When I awoke I said, "Lord, what is 
there in this dream for me?" I realized that no 
doubt God had permitted it for my good. Im- 
mediately this scripture came to me: "Like as a 
father pitieth his children, so the Lord pitieth them 
that fear him." The Lord seemed to say to my 
soul, "Now I want to pity you." I accepted his 
kindness as best I knew how. 

I thought I had gotten out of the dream all the 
benefit that the Lord had in it for me; but when I 
went to rise and dress myself, God spoke again, 
saying, "Don't be in a hurry. I want to have a 
chance to pity you." Then he kept bringing to my 
mind his goodness in a way that touched the right 
spot, covered my need, and at last I was permitted 
to arise and dress. After I was dressed the follow- 
ing words came to me: "He knoweth our frame; 
he remembereth that we are but dust." The dream 
was still so visible before me. I could still see the 
father pitying his child, and I felt the strength of that 
pity in my own soul. It was so real that I compre- 
hended as I never had before in my life, something 



266 TRIALS AND TRIUMPHS OF FAITH 

of the depths of God's pity for his children. Had it 
been some person dealing with me, he might have 
said, "Oh, you didn't need to let the cloud come 
over you. You didn't need to have the blues in 
this way." But instead of speaking to me in that 
manner, God just poured out his pity until he chased 
all the dark clouds away, until his presence filled 
the vacancy, until he satisfied every longing of my 
soul. 

Dear ones, we have a merciful high priest, who is 
touched with the feeling of our infirmities, who was 
in all points tempted like as we are, yet without 
sin. Therefore he is able to succor them that are 
tempted. Do you not think he will do to trust? 
Then, let us trust him and not be afraid, though 
the clouds seem dark and lowering. God will do to 
trust in the storms and tempests of life the same as 
when it is calm — only during the storm he will have 
a better chance to reveal his mercy, his goodness, 
and his power. 

After being with the dear ones in the Kansas City 
home for nearly a month, I returned to Chicago. 
Upon my arrival in the city I found that my body 
was quite run down. Yet God enabled me to do 
quite active service. No doubt, however, I went at 
times when, if I had consulted the Lord more care- 
fully, he would have said rest. I was not able to be 
nearly so active as I had been in the past, and God 
seemed directing me to take a change, as city-work 
means constant activity. About a year after my 



CAMP-MEETINGS IN VARIOUS STATES 267 

former visit, I again went to Kansas City to visit the 
work there for a season, remaining there for about 
three months. I enjoyed the work there very much, 
although I could take on but little responsibility. 
God blessed my efforts. 

In Kansas City I saw in operation the method of 
working through the circulating library and cottage- 
meetings. They had quite a number of the different 
books printed at The Trumpet office. These are 
loaned in various parts of the city by the workers 
from the home, who visit the homes, talk with the 
readers, take up the books that have already been 
read, and loan new ones. The reading of the books 
often opens the way for cottage-meetings, which are 
held by the workers and young ministers from the 
home. The holding of these meetings serve two 
purposes ; namely, getting the truth to the people and 
affording an opportunity to the young ministers and 
workers to get experience in gospel work. 

After being in Kansas City a time, I went to see 
some old friends at Kingston, Mo. God led us 
to have two or three services a week for about two 
weeks. After about two weeks two of the sisters 
from the missionary home in Kansas City were sent 
for, and we had a two weeks' meeting. 

While I was at Kingston, God in different ways 
gave me much needed encouragement. One day 
a sister was giving her adopted daughter some good 
advice on the subject of marriage. Among other 
things, the sister told the girl that if she married in 



268 TRIALS AND TRIUMPHS OF FAITH 

God's order she would have some one to love her 
and care for her in her old age. The enemy took 
advantage of this to hurl a dart at me, because I 
was growing old, might soon become helpless, and 
had no one to sympathize with or care for me. For 
a time everything seemed dark, as though God had 
let me see certain things and had then veiled his face 
from me. I wondered why this was. I meditated: 
"Well, I have obeyed the Lord, have done what he 
wanted me to do. He certainly will not forsake me 
now. If I should live to be old and helpless, he will 
not let any serious thing come on me, because I have 
been obedient." 

About this time God spoke to my soul, calling 
my attention to the thirty-seventh Psalm, third 
and fourth verses: 'Trust in the Lord, and do 
good." Now, this was my part. This is .what God 
required of me — to trust in him and do good. Then 
came his part: "So shalt thou dwell in the land, and 
verily thou shalt be fed." His part was to see that 
I had a place to stay and sufficient food. The scrip- 
tures that he brought to my mind at that time have 
not lost their sweetness and power even to this day. 

I can not tell you how precious these special 
lessons of God have been to me; how they have 
helped my feet to press the everlasting rock. He 
is a covenant-keeping God, and his Word is true 
and forever settled in heaven. Well might the 
Psalmist say, "I have been young, and now am old; 
yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his 



CAMP-MEETINGS IN VARIOUS STATES 269 

seed begging bread. He is ever merciful, and 
lendeth; and his seed is blessed." Never again has 
the enemy dared to tempt me in this way. 

Praise the Lord! Truly he is all that we take 
him for by faith. "All things are yours." 'Ye are 
Christ's, and Christ is God's." Will he not with him 
freely give you all things? The Father gave the 
Son, heaven's best gift, and did he leave out the 
minor gifts? Nay, verily, he will fulfil every prom- 
ise to the letter if we meet the conditions. It was 
Joshua who said, I think, "Not one of these good 
promises has failed." Neither have any of them 
failed any of us who put our trust in Him. Heaven 
and earth shall pass away, but his word will stand 
secure. "Forever, O Lord, thy word is settled in 
heaven." 

"Even down to old age, all my people shall prove, 
My sovereign, eternal, unchangeable love; 
And when hoary hairs shall their temples adorn, 
They'll still like lambs in my bosom be borne. " 

After being in Kingston one month, we came to 
Kansas City, remained a short time, made a call 
some distance out to pray for the sick, and on my 
return to the city had urgent word to come to Chi- 
cago, as my mother was needing my attention. After 
a short stay in Chicago I went to the camp-meeting 
at Anderson, Ind., and enjoyed the feast there. 
Then I went out in the country near Summitville, 
Ind., for a little rest and recreation. I was at Sum- 
mitville about five weeks and during that time assisted 



270 TRIALS AND TRIUMPHS OF FAITH 

Bro. N. S. Duncan in a series of meetings that God 
blessed and owned. 

Shortly after this I felt led to go to Iowa a few 
weeks to be what help I could to a dear sister who 
was going through some deep trials. Her difficulty 
seemed to be mainly self-accusation. In other words, 
she had set her spiritual standard so high that she 
could not live up to her own ideal. Like nearly all 
people who undergo that difficulty, she was good at 
heart, but the struggle to get out of her difficulty 
was severe. God came to her help, gave her victory 
over her trials, such as she had never been able to 
have before. She has never been troubled again in 
the same manner, and she is now firmly established 
in the way of the Lord. 

Some of God's dear little ones who are very con- 
scientious, sometimes look upon the Lord as a severe 
father. It seems to them that he, like Pharaoh, 
wants them to make brick without straw, to gather 
stubble. With this idea of God in mind, they have 
a hard time and fail to see him as a good, kind, 
loving heavenly Father, one whose heart is over- 
flowing with mercy and compassion for his dear 
tried children, ready to make a way for their es- 
cape. In fact, if they could but see it, he has al- 
ready made a way of escape and wants to help them 
into it just as soon as they will let him. His prom- 
ises cover the need of every one. If taken and be- 
lived, one promise of itself is sufficient. "God is 
faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above 



CAMP-MEETINGS IN VARIOUS STATES 271 

that ye are able to bear; but will with the tempta- 
tion also make a way to escape, that ye may be able 
to bear it." 

While the fire is hottest, let us stop and think 
that this kind Father will not permit the flames to be 
any severer or the fire any hotter than is most for 
our good, and that he has a bright design in all that 
he permits to come upon us. He wants us to hold 
still, so that he can bring out his design in us. Let 
us be careful that we do not foil his plans. If we do 
not, not only will he be pleased, but we also shall 
be glad that we submitted to him. 

I spent five weeks laboring with this sister. Per- 
haps some will think that a long time to spend on 
one soul, and even think the time wasted, but did 
you ever think how great is the value God places 
upon one soul? "For what shall it profit a man, if 
he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul ? 
Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?" 
According to the Lord's estimate, one soul is worth 
more than the whole world. Nor do we know how 
many other souls that one will bring to the Lord — 
like the one woman at the well to whom Jesus de- 
livered a message and who went and told many 
others. Let us be faithful, therefore, in helping souls, 
whether it be one or many. 



272 TRIALS AND TRIUMPHS OF FAITH 

Chapter XXII 

Caring for My Aged Mother 

Provision had now been made for the removal of 
my mother to the Old People's Home at Anderson, 
Ind. As there was not sufficient help at the home 
then to care for her, I took that duty upon myself. 
As soon as help should come, I was to be free to go 
and be in meetings what little I was able, except 
when I needed to care for her, either when she was 
sick or when they were short of help. 

In the days following my coming to Anderson, 
I went to Sioux Falls, S. Dak., to visit a sister who 
was needing some special encouragement. It was 
mid-winter. Some told me before I started that 
there was danger of my being snow-bound, and ad- 
vised me to take plenty of provisions with me; but 
as I did not anticipate any such difficulty, I did not 
heed the warning. We got along pretty well until 
about ten miles from Sioux Falls. The recent heavy 
snows had so obstructed the way that the engine 
could not pull through. It would run a little way 
into the drift, then back up, and again push its way 
into the drift as far as possible. It kept working 
its way forward in this manner from one o'clock in 
the afternoon until very nearly midnight, when we 
arrived at Sioux Falls. 

Sure enough, my provisions did run out on the 
way ; but with the generosity peculiar to most people 



CARING FOR MY AGED MOTHER 273 

under like circumstances, the other passengers, al- 
though strangers to me, helped me out and supplied 
all the food needed. Doubtless many of these peo- 
ple knew nothing of real salvation, but their liberal- 
heartedness proved that sin had not effaced all of 
the marks of God's love from their hearts. 

I remained six weeks at Sioux Falls, during which 
time I had but little chance to do missionary work 
other than to encourage the sister whom I went to 
visit. However, I did go out and put Trumpets in 
some of the yards and on the porches of neighbor- 
ing houses. Possibly some of these papers may have 
proved silent messengers of salvation. Sometimes 
when the mercury was ten degrees below zero, and 
the snow deep on the ground, I would go out and 
walk and distribute Trumpets or tracts. In spite of 
the cold and snow, I enjoyed my stay. I did what 
God directed me to do, and I trust that he has 
blessed my labors. At any rate, the sister whom I 
went to visit has written me a number of times that 
she does not know what she would have done had 
not God sent me at that time to help her through the 
difficulties she was then encountering. On my return 
trip I took a severe cold while traveling in a chilly 
car. My train was late and did not make connec- 
tions at Chicago. I telephoned out to the Faith 
Missionary Home, and they gave me an invitation 
to come and remain over night. I accepted their 
kindness and was soon in the home where I had 
spent so many years in the work of the Lord. That 



274 TRIALS AND TRIUMPHS OF FAITH 

evening I made a call on a dear sister that I was 
anxious to meet, and by the time I got back to the 
home again I was real sick. I had taken a severe 
attack of the grip and was suffering greatly. Most 
of the workers were gone to meetings in different 
parts of the city, but a sister who had remained at 
home, laid her hands on me and prayed the prayer 
of faith. I was able next morning to resume my 
journey back to the Old People's Home at Ander- 
son. 

Although my system had been greatly weakened 
and rendered more liable to taking cold than it had 
been before, yet I was well enough so that I soon 
went about fifteen miles to the little town of Cam- 
mack and assisted Sister Maud Smith in a two weeks' 
meeting. Soon after my return I took a severe at- 
tack of pneumonia. Prayer was offered, but the 
disease seemed to be stubborn. I was anointed, and 
prayer was again offered, but the battle was still on. 
So we called in some more of God's ministers and 
again had prayer. This time God healed me, and 
next day I was able to go down to dinner. Never- 
theless, I remained weak for some days, but soon felt 
almost entirely restored to health. 

In about two weeks, however, I took another at- 
tack of pneumonia, one more severe than the first. 
Again we had a stubborn fight. We prayed three 
times before any effects were visible. Pleurisy was 
setting in, and I had begun to spit blood. My tem- 
perature had reached 103% when God gave the 



CARING FOR MY AGED MOTHER 275 

witness from heaven that he healed me. I did not 
get strength nearly so quickly as I did before, and 
had to keep my bed most of the time for two days. 
Nevertheless, I never doubted once my healing, and 
indeed it had been accomplished. I have never suf- 
fered from that affliction since. 

This is only one of the many times that the Lord 
has come to my rescue and touched my body. Some- 
times I have been healed instantly, and at other times 
God has given me the witness that I was healed, but 
my strength returned gradually and it was several 
days before I could be about as usual. However, 
the healing came. God was doing the work in his 
own way, and he always has a purpose and reason 
for any method he may use. Let us not question the 
method he uses, but trust him. 

Since coming to the Old People's Home I have 
not been privileged to go out much to help in meet- 
ings. This has been partly due to the fact that 
Mother has needed much care and also to the fact 
that my strength has not been equal to the exertion. 
But I have had the privilege of helping in other 
ways. Very often the old people in the home need 
prayer for their healing or help and encouragement 
in their souls. Besides, I have had the privilege of 
giving help and encouragement to some of the work- 
ers in The Trumpet office, and also to others living 
nearby. I am very thankful for these opportunities. 

The Lord has also been helping me to trust him 
for means to support his cause in the Missionary 



276 TRIALS AND TRIUMPHS OF FAITH 

field and other places. Although I can not give 
much, yet I appreciate the privilege of giving the 
little. At first I felt led to purpose forty cents a 
month. The Lord provided this sum every time. 
For a year I kept up this purpose and never once 
had to borrow. The Lord also provided means for 
me to help his cause in other directions. The next 
year I felt led to ask God to help me trust him for 
fifty cents a month for missionary work. I never 
failed to have my money ready at the proper time. 
The third year I felt like trusting the Lord for 
seventy-five cents a month, paying this amount in 
advance. One consideration that made me reach 
the decision to pay in advance was that if God should 
call me before the month was out I should not be in 
debt. I have never been disappointed. Sometimes 
the Lord gives me happy surprises in this as well as 
in other things. If we give God a chance, he will 
develop our faith to trust him for means as well as 
for other things, if we are not able to work and 
earn the money, and have a desire to help his cause. 
During the present year in which I am writing, I 
am trusting the Lord for a dollar a month for foreign 
missionary work, and early in the spring the Lord 
gave me enough to pay my purpose for the whole 
year. He made it clear to me that I should use 
the money for that purpose. 

The Lord has helped me also to trust him for my 
clothing and other needs, and for the needs of my 
mother. He is such a present help. A number of 



CARING FOR MY AGED MOTHER 277 

times I have asked him for money in the morning, 
and before the sun went down I had all that I asked 
for. "According to your faith," says the Word, 
"so be it unto thee." 'The desire of the righteous 
shall be granted." 

Some persons have thought that God did not an- 
swer prayer for the healing of old people, since 
they would soon have to die anyway. We know 
that God will not make them young again, as that is 
not his plan; but since coming to the Old People's 
Home I have witnessed the healing of many aged 
people. In fact, my mother, the oldest inmate of 
the home, has trusted God for a number of years. 
The older she gets, the stronger her faith seems to 
be. Every time these old people are afflicted, the 
Lord answers prayer. In asking God for healing, 
they seem childlike, and simple, fully expect God to 
heal them when they call upon him. 

One of the inmates of the home, an old lady in 
her eighty-seventh year was at the point of death. 
From appearances one would have supposed that 
her end was near. She had no hope of recovery. 
Her burial clothes were made ready. She had been 
prayed for a number of times, but was still suffering 
great agony. She did not know what was causing 
the suffering, but thought it might be appendicitis. 
Some of us, however, could not be satisfied to let 
her die without making further effort for her healing, 
so we sent for Bro. E. E. Byrum. She was again 
anointed and prayed for. While we were on our 



278 TRIALS AND TRIUMPHS OF FAITH 

knees, God assured my heart that he would hear 
and answer prayer. Her suffering did not seem to 
decrease, however, immediately, and in less than an 
hour Brother Byrum was again called. He came 
at once, as he had remained in the house. The 
second time he offered prayer that God would re- 
lieve her of her suffering. Although her condition 
still looked discouraging, yet God made us know 
that she was going to get well. Although she did 
not recover very rapidly, yet for one of her age the 
change was marvelous, and not long afterward she 
had her usual health. A year or more afterwards 
she was able to return to Pennsylvania to visit some 
of her folks. She concluded to remain there and 
is still living in that State. 

One of the aged brothers in the home was greatly 
afflicted. His mind was giving way somewhat, and 
he got into a very melancholy condition, thinking 
that he ought never to leave his room, and especially 
that he should not be out-of-doors. It could easily 
be seen that if he continued very long in this condi- 
tion, he would not only lose his mind but be bedfast 
and perhaps die. He desired very much to be sanc- 
tified and asked several of us to come to his room and 
pray for him. We went to his room and talked to 
him on the subject of sanctification, and while he was 
surrendering all to the Lord, we had him consecrate 
his will that he would be out-of-doors all that the 
Lord wanted him to be. He promised he would do 
so, and the Lord sanctified him. In the two years 



CARING FOR MY AGED MOTHER 279 

or more that have passed since then, he has not 
broken his promise, but has remained in the house 
only when the weather prevented his being out. As 
a result, his mind is almost entirely restored, his 
body is much stronger, and he is not like the same 
person. 

In the four years I have been in the Old People's 
Home nursing my mother, I have noticed that the 
older people get the less able they are to compre- 
hend anything new. For this reason it is hard for 
an old person to grasp the promises of God for salva- 
tion; but if they have been saved in their younger 
years and have lived a consistent Christian before 
they come to such a great age, they will every year 
grow more and more like Jesus, trusting him more 
fully, and seem more humble and thankful as they 
draw nearer the grave. I have been more strongly 
impressed than ever before that people should seek 
God while they are young before they become unable 
to grasp the promises. I feel the more impressed to 
sound a warning because there are some in the home 
with whom we have labored again and again, but 
who are so aged and infirm that seemingly they can 
not reach a decision to seek until they find. Their 
unsaved condition, in view of their extreme age, puts 
them in a very serious place. 

The spiritual workers in The Trumpet Family 
sometimes take me with them to visit those who 
need help in the city. One day we went to see a 
man who was on his death-bed. He had never 



280 TRIALS AND TRIUMPHS OF FAITH 

known God. When we first went into the room, we 
did not know that he would be able to talk with us 
much, but we prayed earnestly that God's Spirit 
would work with him. That was all we could do at 
that time. Later we went and had prayer with him 
again, talking to him about his soul, and prayed 
earnestly that God would spare his life until he 
could obtain salvation, and that God would keep his 
mind clear so that he would be able to meet the 
conditions. We went to see him the third time. In 
the meantime other workers had been to see him, and 
he was becoming concerned about his soul. While 
one of the brethren was praying with him, he grasped 
the promises that God would save him, and was 
able to rejoice in the Lord. When I went to see 
him a little later, he seemed to have complete vic- 
tory and was very happy. 

While thinking of this occurrence at a later time, 
it seemed to me that I had done nothing toward the 
brother's salvation, since I was not present at the 
time he was saved. But the Lord began to talk to 
my soul: "Paul may plant, and Apollos may water, 
but God gives the increase. Are you not willing to 
plant and let some one else water? Are you not 
willing to be coworkers with others for the Lord?" 
I saw the point and answered, "Amen, Lord, I am 
willing; any way to get souls saved." 

One day my mother was taken suddenly ill. Her 
affliction was overflowing of the gall. It seemed 
that she would strangle to death. She was anointed 



CARING FOR MY AGED MOTHER 281 

and prayer was offered; then we sent for the elders 
and again had prayer, but it seemed that she was 
dying. A few hours later, thinking she was dying, 
we sent for some of the elders and a number of us 
gathered about her bed. The blood seemed to be 
settling under her skin as though she were mortifying 
before she died, and the Superintendent, who was 
standing near the bed, said he was sure he heard 
the death-rattle in her throat. Even at that time we 
offered prayer the third time, and all these more pro- 
nounced symptoms disappeared and she looked 
natural once more. She remained quite sick, how- 
ever, for several days. God had made it clear to 
one of the brethren that we had offered the prayer 
of faith and that her life would be spared for a 
time. She is still living at this time, a marvel of 
God's divine power. 



282 TRIALS AND TRIUMPHS OF FAITH 

Chapter XXIU 

Exhortation to Workers and Ministers 

In conclusion I feel that the Lord would be 
pleased for me to say a few words for the encourage- 
ment of young ministers and workers. In my work 
in the ministry I have come through many varied 
experiences that, I trust, will be helpful to you in the 
trials through which you will have to pass before 
you get settled in the Lord's work. 

The first difficulty met by most young ministers 
and workers is in regard to their call. Unless the 
call be clear and definite, they are likely to be in 
some doubt as to whether or not they are called, 
and thus be exposed to the temptations of the enemy 
that God has not called them at all. Sometimes 
God makes a call so clear that it is beyond question, 
and the one called has no chance to doubt it for a 
moment. This was my experience at first; but when 
I got my mind filled with other plans, instead of 
keeping in view the past leadings of the Lord, sad 
to say, I began to doubt my call. But when I began 
again to seek God's will, everything cleared up, and 
I felt certain of my call. 

Many others have difficulties right on this point. 
They feel led to do something for the Lord, and 
undertake to follow the leadings of his Spirit, but 
they do not feel the presence of God as they ex- 
pected to feel it, or do not have the liberty that they 



EXHORTATION TO WORKERS AND MINISTERS 283 

think they should have. Then comes the temptation, 
"Has God called me, or am I trying to push out 
without any calling?" If they are very conscien- 
tious, it is easy for them to become confused when 
confronted with this temptation. They will pray 
over it and trouble over it. They are very timid 
and feel afraid to ask older workers lest what they 
have supposed to be a call is an imagination of their 
own and they will get a good sharp rebuke. They 
will struggle along in this condition until it becomes 
unbearable ; then perhaps they will open their hearts 
to some person in whom they have confidence. If 
they get the proper instruction, they can soon be 
lifted out of this dilemma ; but if not, they may do as 
some have done before — get so confused that they 
will lose the grace of God out of their souls. 

My advice would be: If you have any idea that 
you are called, go to exercising yourself as best you 
can, whether it be in exhortation, teaching, or testi- 
mony, or whatever God brings most clearly to your 
mind. If you are not sure about your calling, in 
the meantime be patient and wait on God. Be sure 
you cast your burden entirely on him and let him 
bear it for you. If God's hand is on you for service, 
you will sooner or later be perfectly satisfied as to 
what he wants you to do; but if it should be other- 
wise, and you are honest of heart, you will be only 
too glad to know that you are not called. Thus 
your mind will be relieved. 

If you are exercising yourself in spiritual things 



284 TRIALS AND TRIUMPHS OF FAITH 

and no one is getting any benefit, you should take 
time to consider well whether God is calling you or 
not. I verily believe that if God's hand is on any 
one for service, whether he be a beginner or some one 
of experience, some will get a blessing when he 
teaches, exhorts, or delivers a message, because with 
his Word, God gives the anointing of his Spirit. 
"But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to every 
man to profit withal" (1 Cor. 12: 7). According 
to the Word, then, we can safely say that if there is 
no profit to the hearers in what is being set forth. 
God's Spirit is not inditing the message. 

A young worker who was doubtful about his 
call, once went to an older brother for advice. This 
is what he received: "If you feel that God wants 
you to go out into evangelistic work, go right along, 
even if you are not sure that God is calling you. Go 
along, and then if you have success, you will know 
it is your own efforts and trust in God that has 
brought success, and not the efforts and faith of 
another. By following this plan you can easily de- 
termine whether or not God's hand is on you for 
the work." 

Now, the method the brother proposed might 
succeed in some cases all right, but I hardly think 
it would do in all cases, as all are not led out alike. 
One of my brothers, when he was first called, felt 
led to be with me in the work, that God might make 
me more useful by his presence. He did not com- 
prehend at all that God's hand was on him for 



EXHORTATION TO WORKERS AND MINISTERS 285 

service, but later God began to lead him out and to 
use and bless his efforts. By and by God got him to 
the point where he could reveal to him his future 
work. At first my brother hardly knew what to 
do. He was at a place where he had to fulfil his 
calling or else grieve God. He chose the former 
course, and God made him a useful minister, but his 
development was gradual. 

If you begin exercising yourself in the ministry, 
and God does not bless your efforts, and God's chil- 
dren do not realize that his Spirit is working through 
you, you would do well to go slowly and to keep 
submitted to the brethren, lest you should find your- 
self running ahead of the leadings of the Spirit of 
the Lord. If God is leading a young worker out 
for service, he not only will make him feel sooner 
or later the weight of the call, but will so impress 
the church that they will know that God is inditing 
his message. 

When you once get it definitely settled that you 
are called to the ministry, never allow the difficulties 
and trials of this life so to cloud your vision that you 
doubt your call. It is one of the tricks of the enemy 
by trials and discouragement to make the ministers 
doubt their calling. When your call is once settled, 
do not go over it again and again to find out whether 
God is in earnest about it. If you should backslide, 
of course, then you should wait until God makes 
clear his will to you again. If a person is not stable 
in his experience, even though he has had a call to 



286 TRIALS AND TRIUMPHS OF FAITH 

service, that call does not remain so clear and God 
does not always trust him at once after his recovery 
from his unsettled state. 

Some young workers who feel clear that God has 
called them to service, try to measure their call by 
what others think of it. Such a course will bring 
on confusion. It is all right to be submissive to the 
brethren, but the Lord wants each of us to get his 
own bearings. Pray through until you get the mind 
of God, and at the same time be subordinate to the 
brethren. If they see it is not best for you to move 
out rapidly, heed what they tell you. 

Be sure to keep your own individuality. If you 
feel that God has shown you a duty, do it in his fear, 
in a humble, submissive way. God may be leading 
you, and yet he may not be making his design very 
clear to others. There may be many difficulties in 
your way, such as bashfulness, want of fluent speech, 
awkwardness of manner, and ignorance. If, how- 
ever, God has called you, and you keep submissive 
to him, he will in his own way bring out his design 
in you. Whatever your hands find to do, do it with 
your might. One has said, "Instant obedience is 
the secret of divine guidance." 

Some young workers become discouraged if they 
are not used extensively. You need not conclude, 
however, that because the Lord does not give you a 
message often, he does not want to use you at all. 
Keep submitted and obey God. If God is leading 
you into evangelistic work, move out. If many souls 



EXHORTATION TO WORKERS AND MINISTERS 287 

are saved, be thankful ; but if few are saved, still be 
thankful. Obey God. Do all that he shows you 
to do, and expect souls to be saved. Pray earnestly 
that God may convict souls. Pray through until 
you know that God is going to work with you for the 
salvation of mankind. Be so true, so humble, and 
so faithful, and so fill your calling by the help of 
God, that you can say with Paul, "I magnify mine 
office." 

During my evangelistic labors I have come to 
places where from a natural standpoint the prospect 
was so discouraging and the religious confusion of 
the people so great that, if we could not have inter- 
ceded with God for help, it would have been use- 
less for us to remain. When we went to God in 
earnest prayer, however, and plead with him for 
souls, God never disappointed us. Many times we 
have had our greatest victories where the prospects 
seemed especially discouraging. 

As we have already said, a definite call is the first 
essential for a gospel worker; but even with such a 
call a minister will fail, unless he goes forth filled with 
the Spirit. You may have a call, you may really be 
sent by the Lord; but unless you keep filled with 
the Spirit, your labors will soon cease to bring re- 
sults. Do not try to imitate the manner and methods 
of others, but keep yourself so submitted to God 
and so pliable in his hands that he can have his 
way with you, even as the potter does with the clay. 



288 TRIALS AND TRIUMPHS OF FAITH 

Let God mold and fashion you into a vessel after 
his own design. 

Again, do not neglect to search the Scriptures. 
Under the illumination of the Holy Spirit, the Scrip- 
tures will prove a mine of wealth to you. Education 
is all right in its place; but when you lean upon 
it as a means of understanding the Scriptures, or 
when you depend upon it for unction and liberty 
and for ability to teach, preach, or exhort, you will 
make a sad failure. You will disappoint yourself, 
the people, and God. 

Do not question your calling because you have 
a poor education. Make good use of your present 
opportunities. Read good books. Get all the help 
and information you can in regard to soul-saving, but 
be careful you do not lean on your education for 
soul-unction. Many a time the Lord has called my 
attention to this thought before I rose to address an 
audience. Again and again he has reminded me 
to be sure not to depend upon myself, but to lean 
always on him, to drink in of his Spirit, so that I 
might give out to others. Human speech fails me 
in trying to bring out the importance of this thought. 
I trust that God will interpret my thought to your 
heart in a more forceful manner than words will 
allow. 

Thus far I have been speaking mainly to young 
workers in the early part of their ministry. Now I 
wish to say a few words that will be helpful to them 



EXHORTATION TO WORKERS AND MINISTERS 289 

as they grow older in the service. If you are fully 
persuaded that God has chosen you as his mouth- 
piece to declare the everlasting gospel to eternity- 
bound souls, you should feel the weight of your re- 
sponsibility. A very weighty responsibility rests 
upon him who stands between the living and the 
dead. The attitude a minister holds, both toward 
his call also toward the Word of God, and also to- 
ward the people, is of vital importance. No better 
instruction to ministers has ever been given than that 
which Paul gave to Timothy : "I charge thee, there- 
fore, before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, who 
shall judge the quick and the dead at his appearing 
and his kingdom; preach the word; be instant in 
season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with 
all long-suffering, and doctrine. For the time will 
come when they will not endure sound doctrine ; but 
after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves 
teachers, having itching ears" (2 Tim. 4: 1-3). 

The admonition to preach the word implies that 
what goes forth from the pulpit should be in har- 
mony with the Scriptures, backed up by the Spirit of 
God. Do not give the people theories nor illustrate 
your speech by fabulous stories. Do not dwell too 
much with the surface problems of Christianity, but 
spend more time in leading the people to a deep 
heart-experience. If they get the inner man right 
its beauty will shine out through their entire being. 
In short, speak to the people the oracles of God, so 
that if they are at all susceptible to the truth, your 



290 TRIALS AND TRIUMPHS OF FAITH 

speech will appeal to them as the Word of God 
spoken through your lips of clay. 

In preaching, guard against relating many touch- 
ing incidents merely to work up the human sympathy. 
We have to deal with the hearts of men as well as 
with their minds and judgments. Any one that has 
a love for God's pure word will find in it a force and 
power that will have a good effect when it is pre- 
sented in simple and plain language under the anoint- 
ing of the Holy Spirit. 

In preaching on some subjects, it is necessary to 
have a large number of texts, but ministers make a 
mistake who think that they must make every sermon 
a Bible-reading. The use of too many scriptures 
confuses the listeners; it is often better to concen- 
trate the attention of the hearers on one text until 
its full meaning is mastered. At the proper time 
Bible-lessons are in order, but the admonition, 
"Preach the word," does not mean that you are to 
read a large number of scriptures, but merely that 
you should present the Word of God as paramount 
to everything else. The ministry of Babylon have 
fed their people with much worldliness mixed to- 
gether with a small portion of the Word of God. 
For this reason God's people scattered in Babylon 
have not fared well. At meeting their intellects 
would be fed, but their souls would be starved. 

You can not, however, feed others until your own 
soul is fed. This is done by searching the Scrip- 
tures and by praying much. If it is laid upon any 



EXHORTATION TO WORKERS AND MINISTERS 291 

one more than another to search the Scriptures, it 
is laid upon God's ministry, whom he has set apart 
to teach his Word and to feed his people. It is 
good to read God's Word slowly and carefully, to 
meditate upon it, to read it in different ways, by 
course, by subject. After reading a small portion, 
take time to dwell upon it, to pray over it, until it 
has become your own, not only as a possession of 
your mind, but also as a soul-experience. 

If you depend thus upon the Spirit of the Lord, 
he will give you new messages for the people. God 
gives his ministers many things that are good to re- 
peat again and again, especially to different audi- 
ences ; but a repetition of old thoughts many times in 
the same congregation is too much like serving 
warmed-over food. It lacks appetizing qualities. 
Something fresh from the Spirit of the Lord will 
make the people hungry to hear more of the word, 
and will make the word charming to their souls. 
When the minitser gets a message direct from the 
Spirit, then presents it under the anointing of the 
Spirit, it will have beauty, sweetness, and a fresh- 
ness that no power of mere human words, no trick 
of oratory, nor beauty of illustration, can give. If 
you will bear this in mind and drink of the Spirit 
before you come before your congregation, give the 
Lord a chance to use you as an avenue through 
which to speak, you will be a success in your calling. 

To be a New Testament minister, you must be 
able to exhibit at least some of the gifts of the Spirit. 



292 TRIALS AND TRIUMPHS OF FAITH 

These are yours by right of your calling. Paul says, 
"But rather that ye should prophesy." Without 
this special insight into the Scriptures and power to 
present them to others, you will not be able to ful- 
fil your calling as a mouthpiece of the Spirit. 

Before laying special stress on the gifts, however, 
you would do well to see that you are filled with the 
Spirit. Remember that the gifts are as the fruits and 
the Spirit as the tree. One who has not the Spirit 
can not bear the fruit. Do not try to substitute the 
gifts of the Spirit for spirituality. Covet earnestly 
the best gifts. Nevertheless, you should be careful 
that you do not try by your own human efforts to ob- 
tain the gifts, instead of earnestly seeking the Lord 
for their bestowal. By undue human efforts, many 
have obtained the manifestation of a false spirit, 
which they have placed on exhibition as the genuine. 

Paul said to Timothy, "Be instant in season/* 
To do this you must keep close in touch with the 
Lord and let him be your wisdom, yea, your all. 
Paul said further, "Be instant out of season." This 
expression has been puzzling to many young min- 
isters. If you will watch to do good and to lift up 
Christ at every possible opportunity, your chance 
for doing good will increase. Sometimes there will 
seem to be no opportunity, no open door; then you 
must open the door yourself. Go in and do what 
you can for souls. Sometimes what you do will 
seem altogether out of season. Later, however, 
you may see that God's blessing was upon your 



EXHORTATION TO WORKERS AND MINISTERS 293 

labors and that some soul has received a benefit. 

"Reprove, rebuke, exhort with all long-suffering 
and doctrine." In order to be able to do this ac- 
cording to the Word of God, you will have to live 
a life above reproach, or your rebukes and reproofs 
will come back upon your own head, when rebuk- 
ing and reproving, long-suffering is very needful. As 
a rule, people will not take the truth all at once. 
Paul said to Timothy in another place, "Consider 
what I say, and the Lord give thee understanding 
in all things." With what carefulness a minister 
must speak when he comes in contact with those who 
have not yet fallen in love with the truth. One word 
spoken unwisely may forever shut the door of sal- 
vation for some eternity-bound soul. 

The last word in this admonition should not be 
forgotten: "with all long-suffering and doctrine." 
Doctrine has a very important place. Mistakes have 
been made in preaching the Word. Sometimes it 
is all doctrine and no experience; sometimes it is 
all experience and no doctrine. 

Paul said to Titus, "But speak thou the things 
which become sound doctrine." And to Timothy: 
'Till I come, give attendance to reading, to ex- 
hortation, to doctrine Take heed unto thyself, 

and unto the doctrine ; continue in them, for in doing 
this thou shalt both save thyself and them that hear 
thee." Paul's words seem to show that the doctrines 
of the New Testament are of vital importance. For 
example, we should understand the doctrine of re- 



294 TRIALS AND TRIUMPHS OF FAITH 

pentance and justification, of sanctification, of divine 
healing, of the one body, and of every other subject 
connected with our eternal interest. If a minister 
keeps the church well grounded in the doctrine of the 
New Testament, he will in a large measure forestall 
the possibility of their being seduced by false spirits 
and of giving place to doctrines of devils. 

But to know the doctrine means more than to gain 
a mental knowledge of it. No minister is properly 
equipped to teach justification or sanctification until 
he has an actual heart-experience. As the minister 
presents the truth on these doctrines, the Spirit of 
the Lord should bear definite witness to his possession 
of these graces, so that he can present the truth defi- 
nitely from an experimental standpoint. Then he 
will not say, "I think it is so and so," or "I guess it 
is this way or that," but he can speak with authority. 

"Holding fast the faithful word as he hath been 
taught that he may be able by sound doctrine, both 
to exhort and to convince the gainsayers" (Tit. 1 :9). 
God's Word on any point, illuminated by the Spirit, 
brings out sound doctrine. It is certain that we 
can not improve on the Word. We may give illu- 
strations which are good in their place, but these 
can not improve on the Word. We may give illus- 
trations which are good in their place, but these 
ity of God's Spirit, knowing that we have the ex- 
perience in ourselves, God can so impress our teach- 
ings upon our hearers that it will be difficult to ever 
get them mixed up in doctrine. 



EXHORTATION TO WORKERS AND MINISTERS 295 

"Sound speech, that can not be condemned; that 
he that is of the contrary part may be ashamed, 
having no evil thing to say of you" (Tit. 2:8). Our 
speech in the pulpit should be of such a nature that 
it will appeal to the hearers. Foolishness, lightness, 
jesting, indulged in by the minister while preaching 
the everlasting gospel, is entirely out of place. Nor 
does this admonition apply entirely to the pulpit, but 
at all times, under all circumstances, a minister should 
be an example to the flock. Only thus can we min- 
isters expect to obey God and fulfil our calling and 
accomplish God's will in the salvation of the world. 

Those who are young in the ministry should not 
get discouraged because they have not fully com- 
prehended and practised the different things herein 
set forth. The older ministers should encourage 
the young to do all they know of God's will and to 
trust him to make his will plainer and clearer. Young 
minister, you should encourage yourself. You 
should be patient under the molding and fashioning 
hand of God, trusting him so to fasten these truths 
upon your heart and mind that it will be as natural 
to practise them as it is to breathe. If we as min- 
isters are humble enough, God can get to the people 
through us what he wants the people to hear. If 
we would but be patient under God's controlling 
power and let him work out in us his own good 
pleasure, we should have less trouble and there 
would be fewer mistakes to be cleared up. Our 
lives should be living epistles, known and read of 



296 TRIALS AND TRIUMPHS OF FAITH 

all men, so that when the world reads our lives, 
they will read the Bible. 

It is very essential to the welfare of the min- 
ister as well as to the welfare of the church that the 
ministers treat each other with special courtesy and 
consideration. The mere act of a young minister in 
taking an easy seat and leaving some older brother 
or sister in the ministry to sit in an uncomfortable 
place, and other similar acts of discourtesy, will 
have a bad effect upon the congregation. Many 
times young ministers hold an irreverent attitude to- 
ward older ones. They should consider them as 
their seniors and as fathers in the gospel. Older 
ministers, too, should act as fathers in the gospel 
and show all consideration and kindness when giv- 
ing advice and admonition to the younger brethren. 
Before approaching a younger worker to admonish or 
instruct him, you who are older in the gospel work, 
should wait carefully before God in prayer for what 
to say. You should call to mind the testings, trials, 
and experiences of your younger days in the ministry. 
If you keep these fully in mind and speak to the 
young ministers as you would have wished some one 
to speak to you in your early days, you can save 
your younger brethren in the ministry many heart- 
aches and trials. If approached in this way, they 
are much more likely to heed your warnings and 
your advice. 

Young people are apt to think that if a road ap- 
pears fair before them it is safe to travel. Some- 



EXHORTATION TO WORKERS AND MINISTERS 297 

times in the path that seems so open to you, the 
older ones see pitfalls and dangers. If you will but 
be cautioned by those who are more experienced, 
you will be saved many trials and heartaches. Again, 
young ministers are sometimes very timid and do not 
exercise themselves in spiritual things as they should, 
especially in the presence of their elders. When 
this occurs, both the older and younger ministers 
should do all they can to remedy the trouble. The 
older ministers should encourage the younger to do 
their duty, and the younger should lean on God for 
the help they need, and should move out, even when 
they have to go with fear and trembling. 

Dear young fellow worker, if you want to make 
a success of your calling, keep close to the Savior; 
keep in touch with him at all times. Do not let your 
mind drift away on things that are not for your 
good. Let your meditation be such that your soul 
will be stored with truths that will be helpful to give 
out to others. 

The subject of our thoughts has much to do with 
our speech and determines whether our words will 
be wholesome to present to the people. The apos- 
tle gives very definite instructions on this point. 
"Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, what- 
soever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, 
whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are 
lovely, whatsoever things are of good report ; if there 
be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on 
these things" (Phil. 4:8). Let your mind dwell 



298 TRIALS AND TRIUMPHS OF FAITH 

upon God, upon his plan, upon his goodness and his 
mercy, then the Lord will have a chance to impress 
these things upon your soul more clearly than they 
can be impressed in any other manner. 

With your meditation, combine secret prayer. As 
you meditate, talk with God and let God talk with 
you. To have a good conversation with a friend, 
you must not do all the talking, but must give your 
friend an opportunity to talk also. Likewise, when 
you are talking with God, give him a chance to re- 
veal precious thoughts to your soul. Give him a 
chance to fill your inner being with heaven's sweet- 
ness. If God fills your heart with the riches of 
heaven, then you can give out that richness and 
blessing to others; then you can be the means of 
arousing in your hearers a hungering for the good 
things of God, and they will come again to hear the 
Word of the Lord. 

Now, as I bring to a close this brief sketch of my 
life history, I realize that, like this story, my active 
work in the ministry is near its close. Although my 
body is well spent and the weight of years is some- 
what heavy upon me, yet the divine fire still glows on 
the altar of my heart, and my interest in gospel work 
is not diminished. In the few years that may still 
remain to me of my earthly pilgrimage, I shall take 
a lively interest in those young brothers and sisters 
whom God has called to take the places of us who 
are being compelled to retire from active service. 

I shall watch with interest the work of the ministry, 



EXHORTATION TO WORKERS AND MINISTERS 299 

not only as individuals but as a body. I shall hope 
and pray that you who are now stepping into the 
ranks as workers for the Lord will avoid many mis- 
takes that we older ministers have made. If this 
little volume points out any pitfalls that should be 
avoided or any pleasant paths that your feet may 
walk in with safety; if it encourages you to trust 
the Lord more fully for all things and inspire you 
to place yourself more fully in his hands for service, 
it will have accomplished the purpose of the author. 

Our salvation was purchased by the suffering and 
death of Christ. The salvation of the world will be 
brought about only through our suffering and soul- 
travail. 'They that sow in tears shall reap in joy." 
"As soon as Zion travailed, she brought forth her 
children." "He that goeth forth and weepeth, bear- 
ing precious seed, shall doubtless come again with 
rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him." 

Remember that without trials you can not have 
triumphs. Paul says something about enduring hard- 
ness like good soldiers, thus recognizing the fact that 
hardness is the portion of a good soldier. If you 
are a worthy minister, you are sure to endure hard- 
ness, buffeting, persecution, and perils by false breth- 
ren; but, thank God, through all these you can be 
more than conqueror, and look forward to the final 
reward. Paul says, "I reckon that the sufferings 
of this present time are not worthy to be compared 
with the glory that shall be revealed in us." 



300 TRIALS AND TRIUMPHS OF FAITH 

THE REFINER'S FIRE 

He sat by a fire of seven -fold heat, 
As he watched by the precious ore, 

And closer He bent with a searching gaze 
As he heated it more and more. 

He knew he had ore that could stand the test, 

And he wanted the finest gold 
To mold as a crown for the King to wear, 

Set with gems with a price untold. 

So he laid our gold in the burning fire, 

Though we fain would have said him "Nay," 

And he watched the dross that we had not seen, 
And it melted and passed away. 

And the gold grew brighter and yet more bright, 
But our eyes were so dim with tears, 

We saw but the fire, not the Master's hand, 
And questioned with anxious fears. 

Yet our gold shone out with a richer glow, 

As it mirrored a Form above, 
That bent o'er the fire, though unseen by us, 

With a look of ineffable love. 

Can we think that it pleases His loving heart 

To cause us a moment's pain? 
Ah, no! but He saw through the present cross 

The bliss of eternal gain. 

So He waited there with a watchful eye, 
With a love that is strong and sure, 

And His gold did not suffer a whit more heat 
Than was needed to make it pure. 






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